Sow: STRQ
by peacelight24
Summary: When true hearts lie withered/And fond ones are flown/Oh! who would inhabit/This bleak world alone?-The Last Rose of Summer, Thomas Moore. A story about the team that made RWBY possible, in more ways than one. AU, probably. T for Qrow's mouth and later chapters. S4 compliant. Ch 5: Team bonding is harder than it looks.
1. 1-1: Covenant

REVISED: 2/9/2017

 **PART I: Covenant**

 **CHAPTER I: Airships and Launchpads**

* * *

 _"Set the foot down with distrust on the crust of the world - it is thin." Edna St. Vincent Millay_

* * *

Raven really didn't like airships. Or air travel. Or confined spaces. Or people.

Unfortunately for her, all of those things were involved in this trip to Beacon Academy, and at the same time.

Honestly. She much preferred travel by land. She didn't really care that this was quicker. It was much too claustrophobic.

The ship hit a bit of turbulence, and she stumbled into her brother. She grit her teeth and glared in the direction of the cabin.

Incompetent pilots. Flying was much easier than this.

Qrow, raised an eyebrow at her, looking amused. She scowled.

Stupid twin. Stupid airship. Stupid harebrained journey to a ritzy school for an education she didn't need.

"Hey, I found some lien in my pocket!" A faunus boy exclaimed, delighted. She glared at him until he noticed, and took satisfaction in the fact that his smile immediately dropped.

Qrow snorted.

Raven leaned against the airship window. Stupid Semblance.

The female Branwen glanced at the other students. She couldn't help but notice that many of these other Beacon hopefuls were dressed quite…differently, than herself. She and Qrow were dressed for stealth, their wardrobes travel-stained and designed specifically for combat. They had few things on them which were not absolutely necessary-grimbone medals being one of them. The other students, by contrast, seemed to have an excessive number of…baubles. And also bathed more frequently. And spent an inordinate amount of time on their appearances in general. Raven really couldn't imagine how else some of the girls—and guys if she was being honest—achieved the aesthetics they did without hours and hours of daily work. She didn't really get it.

Not for the first time, Raven regretted letting Qrow talk her into coming here. She regretted letting Qrow come here.

 _It's for the good of the Tribe_ , she told herself. Her resolve steeled, and the anxiety that built low in her gut released, at least for now. _And Qrow needs this_.

"I think you're scaring people."

Raven didn't turn her head, but let her eyes look to her brother. He leaned against the side of the ship casually, his posture relaxed. It was a farce though. Under the long bangs of his unkempt hair, she could see him watching the nearer passengers, his eyes alight with curiosity, and at the same time, distrust.

"They'll get over it," she told him. She averted her gaze to the window regardless. Raven was in a foul enough mood that her aura probably _was_ scaring some of these…fellow students, especially if her seals were leaking. And she knew Qrow was feeling a little anxious, or at least wary, which meant their combined aura was probably setting off all kinds of warning bells in those smart enough to keep a guard up.

She shifted so she could see the whole room in her peripheral vision, even while looking out the window. Keeping an eye on everyone would lessen her anxiety, and therefore draw less attention, which could only be a good thing.

A loud peal of laughter caught her attention, and on reflex her head snapped around as she honed in on the noise. It was a girl carrying some sort of rifle, dressed in a lurid shade of blue which somehow worked with her bubble-gum pink hair. She was leaning on the shoulder of a stocky blonde guy, who seemed to be enjoying the attention. He'd been eyeing her and Qrow on and off since they boarded.

Smart. And apparently perceptive.

The pink-haired girl laughed again, and whatever she said must have been funny because the entire group of recent-strangers broke out into huge gasps of laughter.

The people here were largely innocents.

She marveled at the fact of it, and felt a tiny kernel of bitterness swell inside her. None of these people had suffered Trials. None of them had experienced what she and Qrow suffered to get here. To end up in the same place was mind boggling. It was completely unjust. Raven made sacrifices to get here, to just survive another day sometimes. Qrow too. For them to be in the same place as these people, with the same opportunities…

She and Qrow haven't been innocent in a long time. She sometimes wondered if they ever were. She and Qrow did not belong here, with these lambs and children. The two of them were warriors, finely sharpened blades. The rest of these people…they were students.

Qrow shifted, so his bicep brushed her sleeve. It was a subtle, comforting gesture. One no one but a twin would pick up on.

He always knew what she was thinking.

It was annoying as all hell.

Raven pointedly shifted away. No one watching would have seen the exchange. She could tell by the annoyed twitch of his right pointer finger that Qrow had. That he was maybe a little hurt by her rejection.

Oh well. Qrow has always been a little too soft for his own good anyway. It was high time he grew up and stopped relying on his feelings so much. It wasn't like she needed comforting anyway. She was just...thinking.

A flash of white caught Raven's eye. She looked at it surreptitiously, not sure if it was a person or a sign. White cape in the corner, covering a diminutive form. Raven couldn't see any of the features of the…well it was probably a girl, just judging from the size. The hood was deep and the cloak concealed her whole figure.

Raven did wonder a little why one would pick such a bright color for something as utilitarian as a cloak. White was not an inconspicuous color and this girl clearly wanted to stay off of everyone's radar.

Still, questionable fashion choices aside, Raven's interest was piqued. Apart from herself and Qrow, that girl was the only other person on this stupid ship that didn't seem interested in inane conversation.

Raven gave no signal that she was observing the girl. She mimicked Qrow's posture of relaxed indifference, and simply watched to see if the blur of white in her periphery moved.

It didn't, even twenty minutes later.

The odachi wielder's instincts shot to high alert. There was a significant amount of training that needed to happen before someone could stay still like that for so long. Raven could do it. Qrow too. But she doubted any of the other buffoons on this ship were capable, which meant whoever this girl was, she was likely the only potential threat on board. If Raven wasn't so sure the other girl had extensive training, she might have tried to test her with her aura. As it was, the female Branwen didn't want to tip her off.

Qrow elbowed her in the side, and she glared at him.

"Watch it," she hissed.

Qrow rolled his eyes and gestured to the other end of the room.

A woman with perfect posture and rigid poise appeared as a hologram before the student body.

" _Hello, students_ ," the projection greeted. " _My name is Professor Goodwitch. We will be seeing much of each other in the next few years. Soon you will arrive at Beacon. Your first night will be spent in the Great Hall, so your luggage will remain on the ship until tomorrow. When we land, please proceed to the foyer, where you will be received by Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy._ "

The light switched off, and Raven blinked. There was a loud flurry of voices as students started to gather near the windows, pointing at something excitedly. Raven looked on, incredulous. Honestly, the lack of dignity was astounding.

Then she paused, something the professor said finally resonating.

"Wait, we have to sleep in the same room as these people?"

Qrow's grimace told her that she had not, in fact, misheard.

Great. Just great. Honestly, the things she did for family.

* * *

Taiyang Xiao-Long was having a really, truly excellent day.

No seriously, he was.

He was away from home for the first time, he was surrounded by some really interesting new people, and, best of all, he was _finally_ at Beacon.

He'd been waiting _years_ for this. Ever since…well, ever since.

Taiyang approached the school entrance with probably a little too much excitement. Honestly, he couldn't believe he'd gotten in. He'd been resigning himself to the military corps for almost a year before he received the acceptance letter. Beacon only trained the best of the best, and just because he was the top student at Signal Academy, that didn't really mean he'd be good enough for Beacon. He'd wanted it _so badly_ , but…he hadn't been sure. He'd been afraid. He desperately needed this.

But he was here now, and that was all that mattered. He made it.

The school was breathtaking, and Taiyang wasn't exactly one to use words like 'breathtaking.' The colonnade was filled with fountains, large stone arches and paved sidewalks. The towers glowed silver-green, with jade lights shining at the very top. Tai could feel the power here—it interacted with his aura, and he wasn't even trying.

He'd heard stories, before. About how aura could be imbued in objects over time, and how sometimes when high concentrations of hunters gathered in one place they left marks. Sometimes buildings could gain a life of their own that way, quite literally.

Beacon felt…like nothing he'd ever experienced before. His aura tingled with it—powerful, imposing, and impartial. It was judgment and shelter both.

He made his way to the front of the pack, hoping to get a good spot. Taiyang spent a significant portion of his life studying the exploits and accomplishments of Professor Ozpin, and he wanted a chance to observe the man up close.

The interior seemed to have been designed with classical tastes in mind—lots of dark stone, sleek lines and arching buttresses into a gothic-styled ceiling. But Taiyang could also spot the very modern technology. There were holographic projectors everywhere, but placed innocuously so as to not upset the aesthetics. He also spotted three dust ports hidden in the corners of the room. Tai wondered if they were leftovers from the war, when Beacon Academy was the castle of the Good King. Having numerous dust ports on hand was important for any kind of military installation, and Tai supposed it would come in handy if Beacon were to ever fall under attack.

The school's colors were Vale's colors—green and silver, to represent the Kingdom's safety and prosperity, respectively. It was only appropriate. After all, Beacon might be a school now, but it was still a military school. They trained warriors here, people who would serve the Vale in humanity's never-ending war against the Grimm.

Tai's fists tingled in anticipation. This was everything he'd hoped it would be.

A man dressed in a dark suit with a green scarf and grey hair stepped forward to greet the students as they filed in. Tai's eyes fixed on him immediately, sensing something slightly off. The man didn't _look_ terribly old…except for the hair. His skin was youthful and his body moved with the fluidity of a man in his prime. There was a sense about him, however. Something which spoke of eons rather than decades.

Taiyang had seen pictures of Professor Ozpin before, and knew intellectually that the Headmaster was nearing fifty. He just…didn't look it.

Weird. Maybe it was a benefit of his Semblance?

Tai didn't think about it too hard. It felt too invasive to ruminate about even in his own mind.

Ozpin cleared his throat, and stepped up to the microphone. The audience held its breath, and Tai felt the room shimmer a little as everyone's attention focused on the Professor, their auras sharpening with it. Tai shifted, a little uncomfortable with the sensation. It felt like knives hovered behind his back.

"You've all been accepted to the most prestigious school for Hunters in Remnant. For that I congratulate you. Your progress thus far has been the result of much effort. However," he hedged, and the auras around him snapped with tension. "all of your accomplishments will soon pale in the face of what will be expected of you here." The professor raised his arms, in a pose that almost looked like an offering. "This school is a place of trials—for it is only through adversity that people grow, in any capacity. Beacon will have the resources available to enable your growth, but whether you succeed or fail? That is up to you, and a matter of your own effort, your own strength, and the choices you make."

The Professor paused, letting his speech sink in. "Tomorrow you will be assigned your teams. I suggest you get a good night's sleep, and be prepared."

And with that the Headmaster, one of the most respected men in the world, left his new students.

Tai felt something burn in his gut, some part of him reacting as strongly as the other students to his professor's words. Anticipation, for the strength to come. A relish for the challenges ahead.

 _This is what I've been waiting for!_

* * *

Qrow wandered down the steps of Beacon, Raven hovering behind him like a shadow. She was uncomfortable, he knew. She didn't have nearly as much experience interacting with law-abiding citizens as he did.

Frankly, that was a pathetically low bar and something she'd definitely need to work on while here.

They passed the towering columns marking Beacon's backyard. The holographic message—left, again, by Goodwitch—told them to meet herself and Ozpin at the entrance to the Emerald Forest.

Stupid name.

Thankfully, Goodwitch had thought to leave directions. The whole first year class collectively started moving to their destination, by unspoken, tacit agreement. Raven appeared beside him the second she figured it was allowed.

It might be kind of endearing if she wasn't directing at least some of her unkind thoughts toward him. And he _knew_ she was because his aura kept on registering her unspoken, probably unfounded threats.

Qrow turned to her after a particularly sharp stab of "SOMEONE INTENDS BODILY HARM" and glared.

She didn't even have the grace to look guilty.

Qrow directed his attention to their surroundings. The path out to the Emerald Forest—still a stupid name—was long. Which made sense since there were apparently Grimm out there, for the students to practice. To his left was a sea of viciously red-orange trees, a sharp contrast to the greenery around them. He supposed it wasn't odd that the forest was turning colors; it was fall. None of the other foliage in this area seemed to have received the memo though…

It was almost a mile before the scenery began to change. The foliage was thicker, and the path became narrower. Raven stopped directing unkind thoughts at everyone and everything, and Qrow assumed her attention was merely diverted by their surroundings. Finally, the path took a sharp right turn, and the incline went up about forty degrees. When they reached the crest of the hill, they walked for another few hundred yards before Qrow spotted the grumpy Headmaster and the uptight assistant.

They were standing before a massive wall of greenery and stone. The ivy seemed merged with the structure, like it had adopted the rock into its atomic form. It stretched into the forest on his right and left, and the wall was at least fifty yards high. Not an impossible height for a Hunter to jump, but still. Tall.

The other students gathered at the base. Ozpin and Goodwitch instructed the first few students to each stand behind a large stone marker, and the rest of them followed suit. Qrow groaned and stretched as he got into line-up, not really caring when a girl in a violently violet dress glared at him. He was tired. Sleeping in the Great Hall last night had not been pleasant. Don't get him wrong—Qrow had no problem sleeping on the floor of a heated, indoor building. The accommodations were nicer than his home back with the Tribe by far. It was just…well.

It was hard to sleep surrounded by strangers.

It would have been fine if he and Rae were allowed to take watch for each other. But they were all very strictly segregated by gender and it would have been a bit pathetic to ask for an exception. So he didn't get any sleep, and he was pretty sure he looked it.

Rae, if possible, looked even worse. She kept glancing at a girl in white subtly. Qrow could read the distrust and the curiosity in her gaze, and the wariness too. He kind of wondered what the other girl did to get his sister's attention like that. Qrow certainly hadn't noticed her, which…yeah maybe Raven had a point.

"As I said yesterday, you will all be sorted into teams today," Professor Ozpin intoned. The professor from the airship took over.

"For the next four years, you will live, train and study with your teams. You will be a unit, functioning like real Hunters would. Teamwork is a crucial skill in this occupation. If you are partnered with someone you are unable to work with, I suggest you try harder—there will be no changes to the teams once they are formed. No exceptions."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. Seemed like a pretty extreme policy. What if—

Goodwitch's eyes flicked to a stag faunus, and then Qrow figured it out. No exceptions, except when someone has serious threats of bodily harm. Like if a faunus got saddled with a bigot, or someone was on a team with a sexual predator. Beacon probably screened for those with the psych evals, but things happened, and in Qrow's experience, bureaucracy frequently fails. The whole thing was probably rigged anyway, to sort people into compatible teams. If that was true, he'd probably end up on Raven's team by default—they were guaranteed to have synergistic combat styles and teamwork capabilities. Plus, they'd generally prevent each other from wreaking havoc unintentionally.

"The object of this exercise is to get to the middle of the maze. Be wary, for it is full of Grimm. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner. Professor Ozpin and I will be waiting in the center to give you the instructions for the next phase."

A girl with cocoa-colored skin and eyes like fire raised a hand. "How do we start the maze? If we all climb the wall here we'll just clump together."

Ozpin raised his mug to his mouth, but Qrow caught the smirk anyway, and it made him instantly suspicious.

"We're taking care of that," Goodwitch told them. Something told Qrow that she was laughing internally, though her visage could be carved from stone for all the emotion she showed. "Oh, and I wouldn't touch the walls if I were you."

Qrow eyed the maze with new interest. It looked innocuous enough. He scanned with his aura. Nothing definite, though it did give him a general sense of danger—a bit of caution, then.

The girl looked suspicious. "What do you mean you're—"

Gears clicked. The ground beneath them seemed to shake. Qrow immediately realized what was happening and widened his stance, checking to make sure he wasn't standing between plates or something.

A loud pop cracked through the air, and the outermost students were flung into the sky, higher than one would have thought possible for a simple spring-loaded launch pad.

"I do hope you all have good landing strategies," Ozpin added, and Qrow rolled his eyes. That man was an absolute troll, he could tell.

" _Landing_ strategies?!" the dark-skinned girl screeched, indignant. Another round of students launched.

He glanced at the girl's feet. "Hey, I would—"

Too late—his fellow student was standing at the very back of the pad, which meant she was launched higher than anyone else by far, and she was spinning in what was a clearly out of control flight.

To her credit, she didn't scream. He heard a faint pop from her weapon, and he assumed she'd figured out how to control her descent.

Qrow caught eyes with Raven, who shook her head. They both had a pretty damn easy landing strategy available, but…well honestly, he didn't know how Beacon would react to their, ah, other forms. They would just have to make due like regular people.

Well. Regular people who routinely did stuff like get launched into Grimm-infested mazes.

Raven was in the next round, and he watched as his sister used her aura to control her flight off the pad.

Show off.

Qrow crouched low, centering his weight for the most easily controlled launch possible. His turn was coming in 3…2…1—

He heard the gear click and grinned as he shot into the air, far over the maze.

As it turns out, flying without wings was even more fun than flying _with_.

...yeah the adrenaline rush probably had something to do with that.

* * *

So far, Summer was not a fan of Beacon's teaching methods.

It was not even an issue surrounding the so-called "tough-love" policies that the institution apparently employed. No, actually, it was about their apparent emphasis on _teamwork_.

That was _not_ in the brochures.

She would have just stayed in Atlas if she'd known about it.

Okay, that was a lie.

But seriously, Summer did not really… _do_ people. She just…she just did not.

She was very uncertain about how this whole team thing was going to work out. A swell of nausea rose in her gut just thinking about it.

Wind rushed past her, whipping her cloak and hood behind her as she started on the downward arc of her descent, and it was enough to distract her from her anxieties. This required her attention.

Summer took in the landscape before her, memorizing the layout as best she could. It would help her navigate to the center. Judging by the number of students and the actual size of the maze, not to mention the fact that the central clearing seemed to have only one entrance, it would be statistically impossible for her to get through without actually running into anyone.

Great. That was just…great.

A flash of red caught her eye as it disappeared into the walls. She wondered if it was the girl who'd been eyeing her since the airship. Summer hoped not—their paths would probably cross soon, considering the area Summer was about to land in. She did not want to be partnered with her. That one seemed…wild. Dangerous. And unreasonably focused on Summer. She lost sleep last night because that girl wouldn't stop _watching_ her. She probably would have slept poorly regardless, but. Still.

The maze was fast approaching, and Summer picked her landing zone—their paths would not them cross unless they both circled the whole maze this way, and there was no way they could possibly do so without running into other people.

Summer eyed a corner. More space to land that way, and she took out her dual swords and slid their hilts together to shift them to rifle mode. The long fluted blades curved around each other to form the barrel and the handles locked to create a simple firing pin and trigger. She loaded some dust cartridges in the chamber, and took aim.

She shot to her right, and used her aura to bounce off the resulting kick. The action sent her spinning, but that was fine. Her next target was down and to her left, timed perfectly to stabilize her flight and get her upright. She was a few inches too far forward though—if she stayed the course she'd be too close to the wall. The same wall Professor Goodwitch warned them away from.

She pointed her gun down, a foot in front of her feet. She waited until she was a yard or two above the wall, and fired, using her aura to bounce back again. This time though, she started falling in the exact center of the corridor, and in the middle of the corner. Perfect.

Summer turned down, aimed at the ground, and waited until she only had half a second left before pumping her aura into the dust bullet and fired.

The resulting blast bounced her up slightly when the blast bounced back from the earth and pushed against her slight frame. Only a few inches of bounce, but it deadened her velocity, and Summer landed softly, her worn soles barely making a sound as she touched down.

Summer straightened, and returned her weapon to dual-wield mode before tucking them into the sheaths at her back.

Pretty good, if she did say so herself. No damage to herself or the wall. Only four bullets wasted. That did not even cover a third of a cartridge.

She glanced around, curious. The walls inside seemed similar to the one around the perimeter—made of stone to about the halfway point, and then it looked like hedges. She tried to remember her way to the center of the maze, and groaned to herself. She had been so worried about escaping the red girl that she hadn't really memorized the path she'd need to take.

Oh well. This maze was huge, she seriously doubted there was no way to solve it from inside the thing.

Summer reached down, and snatched a stone from the ground. Professor Goodwitch told them not to touch the walls. She wanted to know why.

She threw the rock.

Nothing happened.

Well—

— _vhoom_.

The hum of the electrical barrier snapping on was so loud it drowned out everything else. Her eyes widened as she observed the wall she'd tested with the rock. Every leaf, branch and brick hummed with energy as an electrical force field buzzed across it. She could feel the heat of it from ten feet away.

If she was climbing that when it came on—

She shuddered. Not worth thinking about.

Well she would not be testing that. It was a delayed reaction time of about seven seconds, so she would most likely be okay if she bumped it, but it was way too powerful, and definitely not worth pushing. Not unless—

Her aura snapped in warning.

Summer whipped around, extracting her swords just in time to see an Ursa bear down on her.

She wasted no time, and lunged forward into the beast as it jumped for her shoulders. She split it from breastbone to pelvis with the glistening silver blades in two easy swings. She relished in the destabilizing carcass of the creature, and in the elegant spray of blood around but not on her. The cloak was still a pristine white.

She heard a slow clap from behind and she turned to face the intruder, crossing her swords in front of her instinctively, blades out.

It was a boy—tall, with dark, worn clothes, ink-black hair and blood-red eyes. His skin was pale but heavily tanned, like he spent his lifetime and then some in the sun. He wore a tattered red cape that hung down to his knees. He wore light armor—an ivory-colored chest piece over a black shirt. Dark grey pants, a color that would not reveal him in the dark, and brown combat boots. Grimbone snippets hung from his belt, a tangled mass of white strung on a thick leather cord. His aura was sharp and heavy, but well-sealed. She couldn't get a read on him.

He was leaning casually on a segmented Great Sword as he watched her evaluate him. She had to admit, the sword looked cool. It had a weird handle, almost like a lever. Maybe he had a mech-shift weapon too? The way he held it spoke of countless hours training—whatever it was, she did not doubt he knew how to use it.

He was handsome, she supposed. In a dangerous, unapproachable sort of way. There was an intensity in his eyes that was off-putting, but perhaps interesting to someone more adventurous than Summer.

"You can still run away, you know," he drawled. "I haven't seen your eyes."

She blinked, wondering what he was talking about. Of course he saw—

Oh. The hood. He hadn't…seen her eyes.

The rules said they had to make eye contact before they were officially partners. And even though _she_ had seen _him_ , the same could not be said in reverse.

And he was giving her the option to run.

Summer stood, considering, and sheathed her swords. The boy waited patiently, and did not rush her.

How many people would do that?

Summer was going to have to partner with _someone_ here. She was going to have to form a team—work with them, and find a way to relate to them. She may as well start with someone who seemed to understand how not to push.

She raised a gloved hand, and pulled the hood back, hoping she didn't have hat-hair. The boy's eyes immediately snapped to hers, and he stared for a moment before taking a step forward, extending his hand.

"Qrow," he informed her.

She walked up to meet him and grasped his hand. It was nearly twice the size of her own and it was rough from weapon-born calluses, but it was warm. She shook firmly, making sure to look him in the eye despite feeling a little naked without the hood, and extremely vulnerable with the height difference. "Summer." And, tamping down her shyness, she asked, "Partners?"

His large hand squeezed back, and he hefted the massive sword over his shoulder. A rougish smirk played at his lips. It made him look kinder, somehow. More approachable. The intensity of his eyes turned warm.

"Partners."

* * *

Just to warn you guys, this will be AU, though not too drastically, I hope. I'm going to use canon at least through V4 because at the time of this writing that's all we have. And I am shipping Summer/Qrow. So.

I also want to drop a note here: For all you non-Americans reading this, I just want you to know that Donald Trump is not a refection of how most Americans think and feel. He got only 27% of the total population's vote (thanks, 60 million registered voters who didn't show up), and he got into office because the electoral ballot casters didn't do their jobs and vote against the demagogue. That's why we have that system in the first place, so the majority doesn't make a terrible mistake, like electing a man who looks like an oompa loompa fucked an orangutan, and acts like it too. Of course in this case the majority actually knew better, but. Yeah. Anyway, I know that anti-American sentiment can be quite strong around the world (and with good reason) but I want to make sure you all understand that this-this is not normal. No one considers this sane, sound or ethical policy, and America is fucking pissed. Just look up the superbowl commercials if you don't believe me.

I also want to cheer on any of the people who protested the immigration ban at airports these last few weeks. That's how you keep democracy alive people. That and memes about Trump's completely inadequate hand size.

Let me know if you guys like it! Let me know if you don't! Let me know if you plan to join a cult! I know I've been considering it since November!


	2. 1-2: Merrily Did We Drop

_**STOP. CEASE. HALT. GO NO FURTHER. HERE BE DRAGONS. SERIOUSLY THERE ARE ANNOUNCEMENTS O'RE YONDER.**_

I have revised chapter one. It's virtually the same, plot-wise, but I fixed some world-building, inner monologue stuff that you may want to check out if you care about that. It's now compatible with the extensive backgrounds stuff I did this week. Seriously, I filled a notebook.

I did change one timeline element, but that's it. And it shouldn't bother you too much if you don't go back and read it. I did take out one thing which you WILL notice if you are paying close enough attention, but that is in the author's note.

Onward! Mush! Be gone!

* * *

 **PART I: Covenant**

 **CHAPTER II: Merrily Did We Drop**

* * *

 _"Set the foot down with distrust on the crust of the world - it is thin." Edna St. Vincent Millay_

* * *

Raven beat a path down the narrow corridor of the maze. The earthen ground beneath her feet was dry and kicked up small clouds of dust with every step. This part of the maze was narrow—the corridors tight and the turns sharp. She maneuvered around the corner on her left, careful to avoid the electrified walls.

She peeked around the next one—there was enough room to do so—and sighed. Nothing.

Raven was getting annoyed.

Admittedly that was kind of a default state for her, but still. Annoyed.

The maze wasn't that big. Probably only about two miles squared. There were a hundred and sixty students. She should have run into one of them by now, certainly? She'd been wandering for almost half an hour. Sure, the pattern was intricate, but—

The air changed, and she tensed, her hands grasping Nemesis' faithful hilt. She clicked the stone-dust blade into place, the best for defense.

Her aura tensed in warning, and she bent her knees, ready to draw in a moment's notice. She focused outward, seeing with more than just her eyes, hearing with more than just her ears.

Nothing moved, but her instincts told her she was in danger, and she learned the hard way to trust those.

Air rushed from somewhere above her, and her eyes widened as she realized—

Raven spun, odachi flicking out with ease, the speed of a snake striking, and she swung for the Griffon's neck.

A flash of yellow entered her vision and there was a body between her blade and the beast, a boy cocking his fist back to take a swing at the thing's face.

Raven disengaged awkwardly, spinning up to distribute momentum and avoid the boy's torso, but she fell down in a heap as she did so, completely overbalanced. His fist connected with a concussive blast, and Raven heard a crack as the beast went sailing into the electrified wall, it's bone mask broken. The creature disintegrated slowly at first, and then very rapidly when the energy field snapped on.

She blinked, ass sore and knees bruised from hitting the ground, and Nemesis sitting awkwardly in her hands, grey blade in the dirt. It took a moment to process what happened, but when she did she pressed a heated glare to the responsible party.

The boy slid out of his fighting form and turned around, cheerful. He was the same blond from the airship, the one that noticed Raven's shifts in aura and mood. He was only an inch or two taller than her, but far stockier. He was dressed casually, in cargo pants and a t-shirt, with a bit of armor on his shoulders and chest. He was wearing sneakers, of all things. Like he was going for a walk.

He offered her a hand, and she noticed he wore blue-grey gauntlets with spiked dust blades across the knuckles.

"I'm Taiyang. Xiao-Long, that is," he prompted, giving his hand another small shake to draw her attention.

Raven growled, and stood angrily, swatting away his hand. "Why did you do that? I had everything under control!"

Taiyang's smile went away, and he raised an eyebrow instead, like she was a particularly stupid child. "Yeah, well. I helped."

She glowered at him. "You got in my way. I would have _killed_ you!"

Taiyang grinned, unperturbed. "But you didn't, so it's fine. Apology accepted."

Raven growled and restrained her fist from breaking his nose. She shifted to get in his face. "I am not apologizing, you nitwit." She felt her expression turn haughty and unforgiving. "You made me look like a fool."

That was not something Raven took lightly.

Infuriatingly, Taiyang just rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, no one but me saw you fall down, and I promise I won't tell."

"I did _not_ fall down, I avoided cutting you in half when you jumped in front of my blade!"

The boy sighed, looking a bit resigned. "Look, I'm sorry okay? I saw him coming for you and it didn't look like you were reacting fast enough." She glared at him, unmoved. The imbecile never should have underestimated her strength. He rolled his eyes. "And next time I'll let the Grimm attack you. Now, partners?" He stuck out his hand again. Raven eyed it.

Damn. She really had wanted to get that girl in white as a partner, no matter how dangerous she might be. She seemed like the only one here who was taking it seriously, other than her and Qrow. And Raven just _knew_ that girl was reliable in a fight.

Then again, this boy did just defeat a Grimm in one punch, which meant he was at the very least not completely useless. And, judging by the lack of impression she was getting from him, he had one of the best aura seals she'd ever seen. If knocking the Grimm into the electrified wall was intentional, he was clever. There were worse people to be partnered with. Probably.

She took his hand, making sure he could feel her reservation. "…partners."

The boy looked excited again, his grin returning full force. Raven could admit the way his eyes crinkled at the corners was attractive. The rest of his face was still stupid though.

"Good! Now I don't suppose you know how to get to the middle of the maze?"

Raven shrugged. "I came from that direction." She hooked her thumb over her shoulder.

There was a deep groaning within the maze, and Raven watched as the ground opened and the walls behind them shifted, swinging closed like a door.

"You're kidding me," she growled. "The walls _move_?"

Taiyang seemed unperturbed. He made a 'come with me' gesture with his arm. "Looks like we're heading this way." He raised an eyebrow and turned to her, his easy-going nature apparent. "What was your name again?"

For some reason, Raven was already regretting this.

* * *

In Tai's most humble opinion, this whole maze was kind of boring.

Yeah, the walls were electrified, and there were plenty of Grimm to kill, and he was pretty sure he spotted three or four trap doors in the ground—he was impressed when he didn't have to tell Raven about those—but after their initial launch, it still seemed like a bit of a letdown.

 _Boring_ , he thought a little petulantly, and he kicked a stone into the wall.

He counted down the seconds until it lit up.

Raven glared at him.

He grinned at her.

She huffed and picked up the pace.

He liked her.

Sure, his new partner wasn't exactly friendly, but that was fine. He'd wear her down. And besides, even though he hadn't really seen her in action yet, he recognized that the weapons set up she had—interchangeable dust blades, a long-blade odachi—required a masterful wielder. So she was strong, clearly independent, and a competent aura user. He was a likable guy, so he was confident she would eventually stop hating him.

Plus, she didn't try and chop him in half when he jumped in to get the Griffon off of her! That had to be worth something!

Okay, so, looking back, he probably could have given her a little warning there, but in his defense she _really_ hadn't seemed to be moving. In the moment, he didn't think it necessary.

Tai could also admit he thought she was pretty. Most would probably find her features intimidating—the large eyes, the untamed dark hair, the way her brows furrowed in perpetual judgment—but not him. He got the impression that she couldn't care less what other people thought of her, and it gave a kind of authenticity to her appearance that he'd rarely seen in a woman before. She wore clothes he hadn't ever seen in Vale—blood-colored robes as a shirt, over black, form-fitting leggings with thigh-high boots—and had a weapon he hadn't ever seen a Hunter use.

He wondered what her story was. He wasn't about to ask right now. Judging by the rigidity of her shoulders and the heaviness of her steps, that would be a terrible idea.

They turned a corner. He raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, look," he called. Raven had stomped ahead of him a good ten feet. She turned to him glaring.

"What." She demanded, not really seeming all that interested. Taiyang took it as a good sign that she was listening anyway.

He pointed to an X in the dirt, near the wall.

"I've been leaving these around, so I would know if I circled back through the same area twice. And look." He pointed to the arrow beneath the X. "Last time I was here, I went through the wall."

Raven raised an eyebrow, her red eyes sparking in interest. "It moved. What's significant about that?"

Tai shrugged. "Not sure. But if my sense of direction isn't horribly skewed, that's the direction the middle of the maze is in."

Raven frowned. "Mine says the same thing." He saw it the moment the lightbulb went off in her head. "You think the maze is trying to keep us from getting through?"

Tai shrugged. "So far, it's only closed _behind_ us, you know? It hasn't ever cut us off."

He watched his partner consider the wall before her. "So is it herding us in or keeping us out?"

Tai looked at the wall. "I think it's telling us we made the wrong choice." He glanced at the footprints around the area, and gestured to the tracks that led away from the wall—someone went through it the opposite direction that Tai did. "Look, this person went the wrong way. The maze told them so when it closed behind him or her."

Raven's lips turned down more severely. "But the walls change only after a long delay. You wouldn't know to look for it until long after you've already passed." She blinked. "…that means every time someone makes a wrong turn, it gets harder for the rest of us." The hints of a smirk played on Raven's lips. "I don't know about you, but I really don't like being messed with like this."

Taiyang raised an eyebrow, pleased. Raven was finally communicating! "I'm not a big fan, no."

She grasped the hilt of her sword, and he heard a furious clicking from the dust chamber. "Stand back," she warned. Tai scrambled to get out of her way.

The girl sank to a starting position, leaning over her right knee as her left foot tracked backward. He saw her breathe.

He didn't see, however, when she moved. He only knew she acted at all when the wall started to rumble and he watched as it tumbled down in great blocks of stone and ivy, cut cleanly into even pieces about three feet across.

The remains of the wall started to spark and hum, but the electric field they saw previously didn't turn on.

Tai looked at Raven appreciatively. Beautiful, strong _and_ powerful. He got lucky with this one. Even if she was prickly.

The girl in question straightened from her starting position, and leapt over the rubble. She turned to him on the other side.

"Well?" She asked. "What are you waiting for?"

Taiyang jogged forward and jumped as well. "Look at that," he marveled, "Teamwork." To be honest he was surprised it came so quickly. Raven looked a little shocked as well. "How many more of those do you think you got in you?"

Maybe it was petty, but Tai was _proud_ of her resulting eye roll.

* * *

So far the weirdest thing about Beacon _by far_ , was the professors.

Qrow didn't have a lot of experience with life inside the Kingdoms. He and Raven grew up in the lawless lands, and they thrived there. The Tribe and its rules were about the only experiences with authority he'd ever had, other than…well it was mostly the Tribe. The vast majority of those experiences had been negative. That was part of where his charming personality came from.

He knew life was different in the Kingdoms. Softer. But standing here in the silent presence of two people who were supposed to be authority figures was…disquieting. It reminded him too much of tribunals. He wondered if the others could feel how disturbed his aura was.

It wasn't that the professors had done anything. More that they hadn't, and yet seemed to expect the students' trust anyway.

Weirdest of all, most of his classmates seemed to have no problem with that.

The notable exception was Summer who was at least equally agitated. They were the only people to have completed the maze so far, which ratcheted the tension upward a few notches, at least in Qrow's case. More people meant more witnesses.

He really didn't like authority figures.

He especially didn't like being alone with them.

Qrow watched the two adults out of the corner of his eye, checking the seals on his aura to make sure the others didn't know of his discomfort. If they could tell, they weren't letting on. The headmaster was still sipping coffee, and the young blonde professor looked as prim as ever.

His partner had replaced her hood upon getting to the center of the maze. He wondered if she did it to put on an air of mystery, or if she just felt uncomfortable around others, and liked the barrier. If Qrow had to guess, it was probably the latter. She only seemed to speak when absolutely necessary, and she didn't seem like one for melodrama.

Qrow could not describe how relieved that made him. Seriously, he wasn't sure what he would do if he was expected to be on a team with a whiny brat who took herself too seriously for the _next four years_. Especially since he was probably going to end up on a team with his sister, and the idea of having to deal with a diva on top of that was not appealing.

Also, the idea of preventing Raven from murdering said teammate daily was downright nightmare-inducing.

Of course, Summer's hood thing could just be a cultural norm he didn't know about or understand due to his…upbringing, and subsequent lack of education. The Tribe was a pretty isolated group, and even though he'd made a point to slip the chain every once in a while, he knew he missed things because of it. Wherever Summer grew up, it might be completely normal for women to cover themselves there. She might be adjusting too.

It couldn't be because she was ashamed of her looks, after all. It just…couldn't. Porcelain skin, red hair so dark it looked black, delicate features…

Summer's eyes were probably her most striking feature though. Silver, like liquid metal.

Okay, so she was pretty. Sue him, there weren't a whole lot of choices as far as women went in the Tribe. He and Raven were the only kids in the middle of a generation gap. The person closest to their age was five years older, and he was a guy. Raven had a perpetual and dramatic crush on him growing up. And his ventures into Mistral proper hadn't exactly yielded many results on that front, especially in the beginning. Of course his good looks eventually pulled him through, but still. Slim pickings.

He shifted his feet, feeling a bit restless. He kind of wished he had a flask with him. He was worried about his Semblance, with Raven not being around and certain anxieties fluctuating.

The middle of their stupid labyrinth was all paved stone. There was a fountain in the center, on a raised platform surrounded by ruined columns that no longer held anything. There was only one entrance, and it faced South, toward the school. Goodwitch and Ozpin stood about twenty feet back from it to wait for students to show up. He and Summer stood on the West side, almost backed to the wall. Unfortunately, the whole area wasn't that large, so they were still within easy speaking distance of the professors.

Qrow glanced at his partner, trying to read her body language through her cloak, and got only a general sense of discomfort. It was like trying to read marble. She had a vice-grip on her aura, too, although he wasn't quite curious enough to really probe. Wasn't worth the risk of offending and alienating her if she noticed.

He swung his arms and crossed his hands behind his neck. "So," he started, gaining the immediate attention of everyone in the vicinity. "Is it normal for everyone to take this long?"

Goodwitch's expression didn't change. "Yes. You and Ms. Rose broke a record. Normally students take about an hour to solve the maze, with a few stragglers requiring another thirty minutes."

Only this woman could make 'stragglers' sound both elegant and like a dirty word. Qrow kind of wondered what it sounded like when she actually swore.

"Huh." He huffed, considering. He threw a glance at Summer, filing her surname away for later. He figured out that the maze was changing according to their own decisions after Summer turned in a direction that led away from the center of the maze—avian instincts, he was like a freaking homing pigeon—and a wall closed behind them.

Summer was the one who realized the walls couldn't move if they were electrified though. They started using trial and error to see if they were on the correct path or not. It was pretty ingenious, and effective. He supposed the whole thing would have gone a lot slower if he didn't have the instincts he did, or if Summer hadn't figured out how to keep the walls open, but man, an hour seemed like a long time when it only took them twenty minutes.

It helped that they both landed really close to the maze's center, but still. Long time.

"I don't s'pose we could get started on the next portion of the challenge?" He asked, admittedly a bit bored. And he'd noticed his Semblance didn't act up so much when his head was occupied.

Ozpin answered this time, his voice warm. "I'm afraid not. Phase two of initiation requires that every student participate."

Qrow sighed. Of course it did.

He wondered how Raven was doing. She wasn't very good at getting along with other people. Not that he was exactly a ray of sunshine but, well, Rae always did buy into the Tribe's "only the strong survive" mantra more than he did.

He heard some footsteps beating a trail down the entrance of the maze, and he turned to get a glimpse of whoever it was as they arrived.

It was two guys. One was decked in some pretty intense armor—about as much as a Huntsman could wear without it being a hindrance—and had a battle axe strapped to his hip. He was short but heavily muscled, far bulkier than the usual Huntsman. He had bronze hair and flinty blue eyes, but he was grinning at his partner when they arrived.

The partner in question was the stag faunus Qrow spotted earlier. His build was almost the exact opposite of his companion's. He was tall and wiry, and his clothes were much lighter than the other boy's—both in weight and shade. No armor, just a white hoodie over a navy blue shirt, and beige cargo pants tucked into leather boots. His hair was a dirty blond, and his eyes dark brown. A pair of antlers grew from the back of his temples, and wrapped around his skull almost delicately, the bottom prongs on each side grazing the edge of the boy's third eye. Qrow couldn't see his weapon, if he had one at all.

"Mr. Winchester, Mr. Baikal. Congratulations on completing the first half of initiation. Please wait by Ms. Rose and Mr. Branwen. We will begin the next half of initiation when the rest of your classmates arrive."

The two boys looked over to him and Summer, and the faunus boy waved as they jogged over.

"Damn," the axe wielder muttered when they got close, "I thought we were the first ones here."

"We'll have to be quicker next time," the faunus said dryly, and for some reason his partner laughed.

"Right." He turned to Qrow, his blue eyes alight with excitement. He offered his hand. "I'm Zilar. Nice to meet you."

Qrow hesitated a second before returning it. Handshakes were still weird—they didn't do them in Mistral and certainly not in the Tribe. "Qrow." He paused, and waited for his partner to take the opportunity. She didn't, and he hooked a thumb toward her. "This is Summer."

"Ardit Baikal," the faunus boy introduced. Qrow nodded to him.

Summer, he noticed, turned to watch the tall boy. He wondered if she was one of those people who got uppity toward the faunus. He hadn't exactly gone out of his way to speak with them when he met the few assholes he came across, so he didn't know the warning signs well.

"Nice to meet you," she told the newcomers, and though soft, her voice conveyed genuine sentiment.

Okay, so apparently not.

He felt weirdly put out. That was possibly the longest string of words she'd used since they met.

"How long've you guys been here?" Zilar asked.

Qrow shrugged. "About half an hour."

Ardit raised an eyebrow that disappeared behind his antlers. "You guys have been here for a while, then."

That wasn't a leading question. Not at all. "We landed nearby. Luck of the draw."

The irony of that statement was not lost on Qrow.

They didn't speak a whole lot as more students started to file in. Ardit and Zilar whispered between themselves, and Qrow noticed them eyeing the other students as they arrived. He wondered what for. Yeah, he knew Hunter teams were made in groups of four, but he was pretty sure the process here at Beacon was either randomized or already pre-selected. Possibly both? Random partners but organized teams? Either way, there was no use trying to figure out how to form teams intentionally.

It wasn't long before Raven showed up. Qrow estimated it took her a full hour from the time of launch to do so. There was a blond guy walking next to her, and he looked a lot more pleased about the whole situation than his sister. Qrow recognized him from the night before—center of attention. People seemed to like him. He spoke to nearly everyone in the hall before lights out, minus the people who, like Qrow, wouldn't have appreciated his presence.

Raven's eyes zeroed in on him immediately, and then briefly flicked to Summer.

He still wasn't sure what his partner did to catch Raven's interest. Yeah, Summer was quiet and a little odd—at least by his standards—but it didn't seem like anything too out of the ordinary.

Whatever it was, Raven looked put out, and glared at her own partner with an impressive level of skepticism.

To his credit, the blond guy looked entirely unfazed by her clear belief in his inadequacy.

He walked like he knew how to fight. Not just the moves, but the attitude. The mental state that comes with knowing what real danger is, and knowing that one's life could end in the next second. He looked like he knew how to keep fighting at the crucial moments. Even in this crowd, there weren't many people of whom Qrow could say that. Ozpin and Goodwitch. Summer, himself and Raven, whoever that guy was, a girl in a red, sleeveless dress, another guy with dark skin…

That was pretty much it.

Raven started stalking over to him, and her partner followed good naturedly. Qrow raised an eyebrow. The guy could not be that relaxed, seriously. Raven would eat him alive.

…she would have by now if he was actually as passive as he seemed.

"Qrow," Raven greeted.

"Took you long enough to get here, Rae."

The blond guy looked between them. "Siblings?" he guessed, curious.

"Twins," Raven told him. She gestured between the two of them. "Taiyang, meet Qrow." She turned to Summer. "Are you my brother's partner?"

Summer turned her head. Qrow could see that much under the hood. "Yes. My name is Summer."

She made no other overtures toward the newcomers. Qrow wondered again what Summer did to get Raven's attention.

"When did you guys get here?" Taiyang asked. Qrow could tell he was trying to relieve tension before it started. Sharp guy. Reading Raven well was a product of either familiarity or talent.

"A while ago," he answered, noncommittal. Taiyang raised an eyebrow, appropriately curious, and Raven scowled. Qrow allowed himself some amusement at how easy it was to bait her into a competitive tizzy. "I'm the older one, by the way."

"By ten minutes," Raven growled, but Taiyang also seemed amused. Some things never got old.

The guy seemed like a good fit for Raven. He wouldn't take her temper tantrums too seriously, but he seemed to respect her too. And obviously he brought something to the table if Raven was even deigning to introduce him. Probably the best Rae could have hoped for.

As more people filtered in, Summer seemed to shrink in on herself and lean closer to him, ever so slightly. Qrow would have felt proud of himself for winning her over with masculine charm if he didn't know she only did it out of an instinctive desire to be as far away from the complete strangers as possible. Clearly, if that meant decreasing her space bubble in relation to the only-sort-of strangers, she deemed the sacrifice worth it. He was not surprised that she was beginning to feel claustrophobic though. The maze-center was becoming cramped and Summer's whole presence screamed 'DO NOT TOUCH ME' pretty much as loud as possible while staying entirely silent.

It only took a few more minutes for the last of the class to file into the maze. He figured at least a few other groups must have caught on to the whole changing-walls-stop-when-electrified thing independently, and then as other groups stumbled across them, began to do the same thing.

Finally, Goodwitch stood on the dais in the center. The group quieted immediately.

"You have all performed admirably, and completed the first half of your initiation. By doing this you have proven yourselves capable thinkers, fighters, and partners." Qrow admired the way her expression didn't change while saying any of this, and yet managed to convey sincerity. "Your next task is to, with your partner, recover a relic. They can be found anywhere on the school grounds. Once you have recovered it, you will return the item to me and Professor Ozpin in Beacon's arena. Any questions?"

Qrow couldn't see him, but some boy shouted, "What relics? How will we recognize them?"

"You'll know," Goodwitch replied cryptically. "As long as you work with your partner, you'll know."

Aw dammit. Qrow really hoped this didn't turn out to be as convoluted as the maze. There, at least, there was a clearly defined objective and a bounded area of relatively small size. If they were supposed to just look for objects now, on the Beacon grounds as a whole, with no clue as to what those objects might be…

He sighed. This was going to suck.

"If there are no more questions, then I suggest we get started." She punched a few commands into a tablet, and the ground began to shake.

The walls of the maze rumbled, and then slowly sank into the earth. Even the greenery sunk down into the surface, and then panels of earth and sod swung over the top of the walls. Qrow could still see the cracks, but if he wasn't quite as observant as he was, if he didn't already know they were there, he wouldn't pay any particular attention to it all. The whole process only took about forty-five seconds.

Turned out, the maze was really just a wide field, surrounded by a thick forest and monstrous cliffs in the distance.

Qrow wondered where all the Grimm went. He and Summer only took care of a boarbatusk and two beowolves on the way in. No way they'd all been killed, right?

"You will find what you are looking for when you work together," the blonde woman warned again. Got it, teamwork was important.

"Good luck children," Goodwitch called, and she and Ozpin started walking casually back to the school.

Luck. Right.

Qrow didn't bother fighting the scowl on his face.

The students milled around for a moment, speaking in surprised, annoyed tones. Qrow didn't really see the point in complaining. Not about this, at least.

"We should get out of here," Taiyang muttered lowly. He said it to Raven, but he spoke just loud enough for him and Summer to hear. Qrow wondered if it was intentional.

Figuring it probably was, he interjected. "What's wrong?"

Taiyang was looking more and more nervous by the second. "They're sending a wave of Grimm," he told them. His eyes grew distant for a second before he looked back to Raven. "There're _a lot_ of them. It'll cause a panic among the students, and the Grimm in the forest will be attracted."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Why would they do that?"

Taiyang started pushing her toward the tree line, which went as well as could possibly be expected. That is to say, she didn't move an inch. "Probably to make us spread out. Stop us from collaborating."

To Qrow's endless amusement, Raven looked genuinely confused. "Why would _anyone_ do that?"

His sister could be predictable.

Frustration colored the blonde's features. "Look, I don't have time to explain the _numerous benefits_ of teamwork right now. Just trust me, we should leave if we don't want to get caught up in the fighting."

He tried to push her again and she yanked her arm away. " _Don't_ touch me. Now, why do you want to leave so bad? A few Grimm aren't going to take this group."

Taiyang seemed to realize he wasn't going to make headway in convincing her not to fight. "We need to get the relics, right?" Raven's eyes sharpened. "Well I don't know about you, but I don't see any here. The forest is as good a place to look as any."

Raven held his gaze for a measured second, just long enough to let them all know she knew what he was doing, and narrowed her eyes. "Fine." And she started stalking off to the tree line.

Taiyang gave a casual two-fingered salute to Qrow and Summer, and then jogged after Raven.

Qrow watched them leave, suddenly unsure if he liked the guy. He was far too good at getting Raven to do the things he wanted. She could be easily baited sometimes, easily distracted. She was never really _deterred_ , but…

He snapped himself out of it. Raven could handle herself.

Qrow looked down at Summer, to see what she thought. To his surprise, she'd pushed the cowl of her hood back so her face was visible, while keeping most of her black-red hair covered. She was squinting at the sky, in the direction of the monstrous cliffs.

"He is right," She told Qrow. "I can feel it. A horde descends."

Qrow raised an eyebrow at her sudden desire to speak, and scanned for dead zones with his aura. Grimm pockmarked the surrounding forest, but they weren't heading in the direction of the field, and it was nothing that would cause that reaction from Taiyang. He frowned. Qrow wasn't the best at this, but he had a solid range. So far he sensed nothing—

There. Out behind the cliffs. He would have missed it if he didn't know where to look. It was just a pinprick on the corner of his senses, an empty whitespace in the patchwork of living energy.

He took half a second to speculate on what Summer and Taiyang's range must be. Longer than his would ever be, that was for sure. More accurate too.

"How are they controlling them?" Qrow asked. They must be if the timing was this accurate.

A grimace crossed Summer's face. "It is rare, but I have heard of people who can…speak with them. Or direct them. Sometimes even call them. Beacon probably has a few of those people in their employ."

Jeez. And he thought _his_ Semblance was a mindfuck.

"We should leave," He decided. There were others wandering into the forest, glancing at the cliffs with surreptitious looks. A few of them at least could clearly feel the approaching Grimm. If he was being honest, the mass of emptiness was getting closer, and it made him a bit anxious.

Summer bit her lip, and looked down. Her cowl slid over her face just a little more.

He raised an eyebrow. He hadn't exactly taken her for the bloodthirsty type. Efficient, yes. But not bloodthirsty. She seemed…too clean for that.

She looked around, concern written in her eyes.

That was when he realized—it wasn't about fighting the Grimm. It was about leaving people behind to fend for themselves.

The idea that someone would be that honestly concerned for other people she didn't know and frankly didn't seem to like very much…well that possibility hadn't ever really crossed his mind. Qrow stared at her for a solid three seconds.

This girl. Clearly, she grew up in the Kingdoms.

"They're hunters, they'll be fine. Hell, they'll get a good fight out of it." He encouraged. It didn't work. She glanced at him, an apology and something approaching a plea entering her eyes—too large for her face, too convincing.

She didn't want to leave.

Admittedly, he did not expect this.

Qrow had the wild thought that Raven wasn't the only easily-manipulated Branwen.

"Oh, for the love of—" Fine. He ran to the dais in a few quick strides and jumped on the lip of the fountain. In one swift motion he unsheathed Kismet and cocked it back to shotgun mode. He fired once, and tried not to think about the waste of the bullet.

"HEY." He shouted, to get their attention. A solid third of the students automatically drew their weapons at the sound of a bullet discharge. Qrow was deeply disappointed in the rest of them.

"In case you didn't notice, there're Grimm coming. So scram. Find the relics, and get out of here." They all stared at him blankly. He capped the shotgun function with the blade. "You heard me. Shoo." He made a little waving motion with his hand.

Figuring his duty was done, he jogged back to Summer, who simply stared at him with wide eyes, shock written across her features. He gestured with his head that they should leave, wondering if they should go after Raven and Taiyang, or if they should go it alone. People were starting to head into the forest, in all different directions. Good, that meant the Grimm would have to spread out too.

But Summer continued to stare, absolutely dumbstruck. He wasn't exactly sure _why_ , but. Yeah.

He stopped in front of her.

"Let's _go_." He encouraged. He could see the Grimm on the horizon now, they were coming for the students.

She blinked, hesitated, then nodded. But even as they jogged to the tree line, she snuck a few glances at him, like she couldn't believe he existed. Not even in the wow-so-cool kind of way, more like you-just-grew-a-second-head-and-I'm-not-sure-what-to-think. But he thought there might be a bit of gratitude and respect there too.

Well it was a start.

At least no one could say he wasn't a team player.

* * *

I just took a test, send help.

Qrow's scythe: It's name is Kismet and I'm not changing it. You have no idea how long it took me to decide on that. I picked it partially because it means a) "an inevitable and often adverse outcome or end," and b) it's derived from an Arabic word, _qisma_ , which means "portion" or "lot," and, if one knows a little about Arab culture and the fatalism inherent within (that's not a criticism, that's just...how it is...), imparts a sense of divine will, which does have a role in Qrow's character. Qrow also seems fond of Vacuo, which is quite obviously analogous to the Middle East, what with their ONE REALLY IMPORTANT RESOURCE THE WORLD LITERALLY CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT, and their apparent ingroup/outgroup mentality and hospitality culture. There are also some parallels between what the Schnees/Atlas and Mistral did to Vacuo with what the French and Brits did to the Middle East during/post WW1. Like, oh I don't know, _literally drawing countries_ , or the triply conflicting Sykes-Picot Agreement, McMahon-Hussein Agreement, and Balfour Declaration. So yeah. Parallels.

Raven's odachi: This was actually easy. Its name is Nemesis, and this works with both the contemporary meaning of "insurmountable obstacle; archenemy," as in, Raven becomes the nemesis of anyone she fights, and also in the sense of the Greek goddess of revenge and divine retribution, Nemesis. There is also the archaic, far more obscure definition from Medieval Christian ethics theology, especially via Thomas Aquinas. He thought of nemesis as a "passion" (passion does not=emotion, it's more in the sense of an impulse, but that's not really right either...English is not the language for this) which allowed humans to take pleasure in the suffering of those who deserved it, and grieve the suffering of the well-deserved. All of that gels very well with Raven.

(of course, Aquinas thought this sense of nemesis was part of what ultimately drove virtuous human mercy and that nemesis was divinely inspired ergo mercy, too, is divinely inspired but that has little to do with Raven, he's just good at giving wordy definitions)

Summer's swords: I previously had these named. This is what I took out of the last chapter. I was sad, it was in Latin and everything. But they didn't further the metaphor/her association with the moon, which I need now that I know what I'm doing with the whole Silver Eyes mythology. So. Working on it.

Taiyang's gauntlets: They're half-named. It'll come up eventually.

In a predictably useless fashion, I have Ozpin's cane named. Should I...ever need it.

See you next week, probably Thursday/Friday again. I'm going to attempt to keep up a fairly regular schedule, but I make no promises either, past this next week.

Let me know how it was. If you notice anything that's off, especially let me know then. Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day!


	3. 1-3: Art Thou Pale for Weariness

.

 **PART I: Covenant**

 **CHAPTER III: Art Thou Pale for Weariness**

* * *

 _"Set the foot down with distrust on the crust of the world - it is thin." Edna St. Vincent Millay_

* * *

Summer kept her eyes trained on the underbrush, scanning for threats. It was difficult to do when she was trying to keep pace with Qrow—she took three steps for his one. In a fight, she could use her aura to make herself nigh-untouchable. But that would be a waste, right now. So.

It might help her regulate her seals though, she mused half-heartedly. Her control over her aura was…strained, currently.

Grimm were creatures without souls or life-energy. They were unnatural beings which craved only destruction. Because they were aura-void, one's aura naturally tried to combat it by siphoning off toward the imbalance, in an attempt to correct the order of nature. This was obviously problematic, and in order to actually fight the Grimm, every Hunter learned to seal their auras, so that they did not 'leak,' as it were. This had the added benefit of preventing other Hunters from sensing one's particularly strong emotions as well. Over time, it a Hunter learned to do it subconsciously.

Normally, Summer had very strict control over her aural seals. She was above average in most applications of aura, from sensing to physical enhancement. And that training and control was holding up well earlier, even with the emotional strains back at the maze. It was absolutely fine…right up to the second she and Qrow got thirty yards into the forest.

There were _so many Grimm here_.

Solitas' terrain defined the continent and its people. It was cold, windswept, and animal life was scarce. The Grimm hated it, which was half the reason people took up residence there in the first place.

Summer had never felt such a concentration of Grimm before. She had never been forced to maintain this constant watch on her aura—not to this extent. She knew what it felt like to be in the presence of Grimm, but so constantly, for so long? Even if there were no Grimm in the immediate vicinity, there was a large enough concentration on the grounds in general that their emptiness tinged the air, made Summer's aura act against her more determinedly than ever before. Keeping it tamped down to her satisfaction, so she would not attract Grimm or alert Qrow to her struggles? It was…trying.

It was also embarrassing.

She never realized how proud she was of her seals. Clearly, that was undeserved self-aggrandizement.

Qrow, she noticed with some envy, seemed fine. His aura never wavered in its strong, sharp burn. She was sure hers had noticeably slipped a few times.

They were following a deer path which ran parallel to the cliffs ringing the Emerald Forest, and though they had not gone unmolested. They had easily dispatched of several Grimm out here—a few beowolves, another Ursa. Qrow was an aggressive fighter. He kept charging in to attack the second a target presented itself. It was very counter to Summer's own style, which, while not exactly delicate, relied a great deal more on finesse and strategy. Qrow's kill count was therefore significantly higher than hers on this particular outing.

His constant interrupting was annoying, but at least she knew he could take care of himself.

Everyone at Beacon seemed strong, actually. She supposed it made sense, but she had mistakenly assumed upon acceptance that it meant she already achieved strength. It was clear to her now, only about two hours into her initiation, that this was most definitely not the case.

That was…a blow.

Her aura wavered again, and this time Qrow glanced at her, his face not exactly concerned, but questioning.

"We can stop," he offered. He seemed neutral to the idea, though he looked like he was enjoying the run. Physical exertion was clearly a favorite pastime of his.

"I am alright," she insisted, because what else would she have said. She was not lying. Her stamina was good, and she felt no small amount of relief that at least one of her more foundational skills was holding up here. He raised an eyebrow, and slowed to a walk.

Summer slowed beside him, not entirely sure of the situation. She tilted her head questioningly.

"I don't think we're getting anywhere with the relic thing," He told her, glancing up as a Nevermore screeched above them.

She grimaced. The whole reason they were running out here in the first place was because they expected to find more ruins, operating on the premise that the Headmaster and Head Professor were using them as checkpoints of a sort. The maze was centered around the ancient fountain and its columns—it stood to reason that, should there be more ruins, they would find what they needed there.

So far, they had stumbled across two more ruin sites—each of them were similar in design, with a circle of crumbling columns centered around a concrete slab and raised dais. None of them had fountains though, and they found nothing which could be considered a relic—unless they were expected to carry back large blocks of pockmarked concrete, but that just seemed unreasonable.

Summer did wonder why those ruins were out here though. The structures reminded her of the architecture around Beacon's campus, and she assumed it was related. Or perhaps it was just a traditional style in Vale? The school was centuries old, after all.

Summer glanced at the sky, taking in the position of the sun. Everything seemed brighter in Sanus. And she felt subtly off whenever she checked the sun's position—they were further South than she had ever been before, and Lythan felt simultaneously too large for the sky and not bright enough.

They were nearing the second hour of their scavenger hunt. She wondered how everyone else was doing, and if they were taking too long.

Actually, that was a good point.

"Why have we not seen the others?" She asked, looking Qrow in the eye. His gaze locked to hers immediately, and she fought the urge to put her hood up. The way Qrow looked at her was very…direct. It made her terribly uncomfortable.

She could not replace the hood at the moment though. It would look like a sign of weakness.

He shrugged, "They gave us a lot of ground to cover." But she could tell he did not quite buy that excuse himself. There were eighty pairs of Hunters running around in these woods. Unless the other students were experiencing far more success, they should have run across others by now.

It was making her uneasy.

"Perhaps we went beyond Beacon's grounds?" She asked.

Qrow squinted at the cliffs through the treetops. "Don't think so. We're still in the forest valley."

Summer looked around a little helplessly, as if a relic would be sitting on the forest floor.

"Maybe we could go back—"

Her aura _flexed_ and it was like a vacuum sucked the life from the air itself. She moved instinctively as the forest crashed around her, leaping out of the way of danger less by sight and more on reflex. There was a terrible groaning and violent shriek as trees were bowled over. Splinters of the ancient arbors went everywhere, and Summer was forced to cover her face with her cloak as she sailed through the air, obstructing her vision.

It was fine. She could still fight blind. Her training ensured it.

She twisted midair, focusing on her aura, channeling it _just so_ and her spatial awareness increased. She kicked off of a falling tree trunk, forcing herself out of the path of destruction.

Something screamed, ear-splitting decibels screeching through her eardrums. She winced, her senses alarming her of danger in every direction, and as she tried to land, to get a better grasp on what was going on, she stumbled and sprawled on the ground in a heap.

To her right, Qrow hissed and swore loudly, the familiar crackling sound whispering through the air as his aura wavered and broke.

Summer rose immediately, dropping the cloak so she could see again. She jumped further than she imagined—almost fifty yards from her original position, and she could almost trace her path through the falling woodchips by the odd spaces they left where she cut through them. Qrow was heaving himself up from the ground, his red aura still cracking around him. There was a crack in the tree behind him, into which he had clearly been thrown. Across from him, at the epicenter of whatever blast it was that destroyed the forest…

In general, there were two kinds of Grimm: the ones that hunted in numbers, and overwhelmed people via quantity, and the ones sane Hunters left well alone unless they had a team behind them.

Deathstalkers definitely fell into the latter category. Especially one this _big_.

Oh sure, a seasoned Hunter could probably take this one with little to no trouble. But it was readily apparent that Summer was by no means as strong as she needed to be, and certainly not strong enough for this. Yet.

And…she has never seen a Grimm this large in person before. It was twice the size of a normal Deathstalker. She has never _felt_ —

Its presence was claustrophobic, and Summer felt its emptiness wash against her seals. For a moment she could not move for fear.

Then the creature's golden tail snapped forward and Qrow barely had time to get out of its way. He ducked, rolled, and ran in her direction. She wondered if that was intentional or if he was just choosing the path of least resistance.

Either way, he did not make it far enough to perfectly escape the creature's reach with his bony pinchers. The Deathstalker spun faster than she would have thought possible and she watched as the left claw bore down on Qrow, whose aura was broken, who did not seem to realize—

Finally, Summer was motivated to action. She channeled aura in her legs, sprinting forward the twenty or so yards to meet the empty beast before it could hurt Qrow. His aura was broken, there was no way he could take this hit without injury—

The world blurred, and all she could see was her target, that space between Qrow and bone. Summer withdrew her swords and lengthened her stride, building speed and momentum. She would not be strong enough to stop the creature's movements completely, not from this angle and not with the amount of force it was using. But that did not mean she was incapable of acting.

Ten yards left. Qrow finally noticed her and his surprised red eyes were the only thing she noticed apart from her target. She leapt, and twisted clockwise mid-air, adding torque to her speed and strength. She was in the thing's blind spot, her aura resonated with purpose, and the seals within her no longer wavered with strain.

She swung, and her blades contacted the Deathstalker's right chela on the lateral side with two deft upstrokes, one after the other in exactly the same place. It was an awkward angle for Summer, but the second hit managed to penetrate the creature's exoskeleton and Luna Cruor _sang_ with the taste of blood on her blade.

The thing howled in rage and pain, and Summer jumped away, in front of it so Qrow would have time to get away, but backing up all the same. But the Deathstalker had a shorter recovery period than expected and so Summer was unprepared for the flash of warning her aura gave her, and even though she instinctively brought the swords up to a crossed defensive position and readied her Semblance, she did not quite see the golden tail flick toward her, deadly and glistening with poison.

But Qrow did.

It was only the grunt of exertion, the hollow clang of metal against bone, and the shadow that fell over her form that alerted her to the fact that he had just inserted himself back into the fight.

He was standing before her, the flat of his sword holding the creature's tail at bay with both hands supporting. His arms shaking with effort. She could not see his face—was unsure if she would be able to read it regardless—but his aura radiated a thrilled kind of relish in this impossible struggle.

Dangerous. That was _dangerous_.

Summer looked at him in mute surprise, nevertheless. She felt a strange, tingling shock radiate through her limbs, and some gratitude—she would not have survived triggering her Semblance. But Qrow's aura was broken, he should not have jumped in like he did, it was terribly dangerous for him. His seals—

"We should run," She told him, just loud enough to hear. Qrow gave a grunt in response, and Summer could not imagine holding out like he was with her aura being sucked away. The creature pulled back, and charged.

"Split and flank," she ordered. Qrow dove to the left and she went right.

She gave the Deathstalker a wide berth, running over a hundred yards before circling around to meet Qrow. It was easy to keep track of him—his aura was broken, she could sense it from a quarter mile away. He was acting with less caution than she was, but the distance was satisfactory.

When they met he was breathing hard, but he was grinning, too, as if life and death situations thrilled him.

 _He really does enjoy physical exertion_ , Summer thought wryly.

"Well," he panted, "that was fun."

She found herself tempted to smile, and nearly pulled the hood up so she could do so privately. But again, that would show weakness.

"You should not take such pleasure in these encounters," she scolded, but her heart was not much in it. Judging from the eye roll, he did not quite grasp that, which was fine.

He opened his mouth to speak, when trees started bursting from behind them. They were discovered by the Grimm, and it was chasing them down, heedless of the forest. She could feel the emptiness reaching out.

"We should run," He declared warily, looking a little put out at his lack of a recovery period.

Summer swiveled her swords to a reverse grip—an easier position to run with. "Indeed."

And so they ran, with a monster and bursting trees behind them.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, they were still being chased.

It did not escape Summer's notice that they were being chased in the direction of the maze. It was almost like it was herding them.

It also did not escape her notice that the monster was not exactly subtle. She was not sure, exactly, how the thing was dropped on them initially, but she suspected some kind of…architect was controlling the situation. In which case, they were somehow being watched and manipulated. If she was not running for both her life and Qrow's, she may have stopped to investigate the trees for cameras.

As it was, she and Qrow _were_ running for their lives, so there was little she could do on that front.

Qrow, impressively, managed to restore his aura seals while running and probably severely depleted. Out of a genuine desire to establish some kind of respect in their partnership and general discomfort with the very idea, Summer had done her level best to avoid reading him while he was so vulnerable to the outside world. Luckily, when she failed, he was generally so concentrated on not tripping and simply running as fast as possible that she only sensed an intense focus on the task at hand before realigning her own perception.

Summer cast her awareness behind them, checking the distance between their location and the Deathstalker's. In keeping with the trend of the last ten minutes, the Deathstalker was closing in on them.

She supposed they could not be blamed. Qrow lost a significant amount of aura in the initial fight and she was being forced to use it almost constantly to stay ahead of the creature—Summer simply was not fast enough otherwise. Besides, she had not slept the night before, and her energy levels were severely depleted at this point.

To her left, Qrow grunted as he leapt over another log and she swayed around some of the underbrush. Her cloak was useful and she would never give it up, but she did admit it was annoying to have to worry about it getting caught everywhere.

She could sense—more out of instinct than anything else—that Qrow was getting frustrated.

"We can't keep running like this forever," he yelled, making sure she could hear.

Summer used her left sword to slice through a tree branch in her way. "We cannot fight it alone and win." Especially not right now, tired as they were. "And every time we split up it finds us when we regroup." Which had occurred no less than five times now—even when they went several miles away.

Qrow growled. "What _exactly_ do you suggest we do then?"

She tried not to tremor at the aggression in his voice—it was directed at the situation, not at her. "Eventually, we should run into others who can help." She was honestly surprised they had not yet anyway. Perhaps they were farther off in their original strategy than she thought.

Qrow snorted as another tree behind them blasted apart with the creature's rampage. Summer briefly recalled all the theories about how Grimm actually functioned, and found herself currently partial to the 'compacted aura' idea.

"That's assuming they would help," he told her. And then she saw his face lighten briefly with realization. "They might owe us. If they were there when I warned them about the Grimm."

She nodded, and felt a brief flash of discomfort in using that act in such a way. It was supposed to be altruistic. That…that was what made her think this whole partnership thing might work. And even if Summer could see the value of his suggestion, she did not like the idea that this might have been Qrow's plan all along.

A tree crashed behind her and Summer had the passing thought that virtue was all well and good but pragmatism was perhaps a bit more in order at this particular juncture.

Still…it was disquieting. She had not pegged Qrow for one so manipulative. Not like that blond boy, Raven's partner. She did not trust anyone, but she was outright wary of Taiyang.

That was a significant downside to having Qrow as a partner, she supposed. She would never be fully rid of Raven, who was, for some reason, extraordinarily interested in Summer. And not in any positive sense that she could pinpoint.

She did not blame Qrow for his blood though. That was unjust.

A spike of pain in her temples distracted her from her thoughts as she ran, and she grimaced. Aura exhaustion was clearly imminent. She wished she had a meter to get a more precise account of her levels, but she suspected she was approaching ten percent. That was when a headache usually began, before it descended into muscle soreness, and if one was not careful, fainting spells.

Summer could actually not imagine a worse scenario right now than outright fainting in the middle of a Deathstalker's path. Unless it was Qrow passing out first. Or passing out simultaneously.

"The headaches have started," she informed him calmly.

He swore. "Me too," he admitted.

She winced and spun away from an ill-placed tree. "How long?"

He threw a surreptitious glance behind them and deftly dodged a squirrel. "…about ten minutes."

Summer gave him a sharp look. That was information one _shared_. He was far closer to the harsher side effects than she was, clearly. A closer glance at him told her he was moving stiffly, as if his joints were a bit swollen, or—

"Muscle soreness?" She asked, because she only needed the confirmation.

"Started about three minutes ago."

She did not outright glare at him, but blanked her face. "You should have told me."

She could not see it but she suspected he rolled his eyes. "Nothing we can do about it right now, is there?"

Summer looked up, wondering if they had enough aura left to travel through the tree tops. Probably not, and it would not help them regardless, since the Deathstalker was perfectly able and willing to knock down trees.

"We should split up," she told him.

He gave her a sharp look. "One of us gets killed that way."

She shook her head. "Not if the other one goes for help."

He frowned. "How would we find each other afterword?"

That was a good point, but Summer did not have a great answer. "At least one of us lives that way."

Qrow was about say something angry, judging by the look on his face, but something flashed on her senses and she felt his attention swivel with hers toward the new presence.

A yellow-brown blur shot between them and Summer got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"EAT THIS." A boy screamed and all Summer heard was the strange sound of grimbone impacting and felt the aftershocks of the boy's attack wash against her back with such force she almost fell. Qrow cursed again, and she assumed he had the same issue.

She paused to look back and threw her hood up. She was panting and out of breath and aura, but when she locked onto the newcomer it was none other than Taiyang Xiao-Long grinning at them with a casual wave.

His aura felt too bright, too cheerful, and far too false for her to even let him out of her sight. He was hiding something. She could _feel_ it.

Another, far darker presence flashed in her senses and Summer was unsurprised to see Raven step out of the shadows, her palm fingering her odachi.

"Couldn't even take care of yourself for a few hours, Qrow? How pathetic."

Qrow didn't seem too bothered by her condemnation. "You try outrunning that thing without backup and we'll see how you like it."

Raven's aura was similar to Qrow's—heavy and sharp, but Raven's felt different. Not darker, exactly, but like it had more bite. If she was going to be partnered with either of them, she was glad it was Qrow. His aura was heavy and dark, and tasted a little like ash in her mouth, but it at least didn't feel malicious. Not to her.

The Deathstalker howled its wrath. Taiyang turned around to face it, and he whistled.

"That is a big one, ain't it?" He asked. Raven's weapon clicked in response. Summer's hands shook as she tightened her grip on the swords and Qrow looked like he was having difficulties even standing.

Summer glanced at him a little closer. He…he really did not look good. She did not know what skill level Raven and Taiyang were at, but she assumed Raven was close to Qrow in skill, which was considerable, and that Taiyang was at least as strong as the rest of them, considering he momentarily incapacitated a massive Deathstalker with one hit.

On a normal day, with everyone at full energy, taking this thing down would be easy, between the four of them. But today, Qrow was basically out of the fight, and she herself would not last long. She could land a few good hits but beyond that…

If only the four of them met up ten minutes ago. Then they might have had a chance.

"We need to run." She told them. Taiyang's shrewd eyes landed on her first, then Qrow. She could tell he agreed.

Raven, however, scoffed. "Why would we do that? There're four of us here. We can take it."

Summer shook her head. "Qrow and I are severely depleted of energy." And really, it spoke to how bad off he was that Qrow did not seek to protest. That seemed to worry Raven, actually. "At best you have two and a half hunters in training to take the Deathstalker." She shook her head. "We should find shelter, if we can."

Taiyang and Raven shared a look. "…like an underground cave?"

Summer raised an eyebrow, and was glad the others could not see the surprise on her face. "Do you know where one is?"

Raven nodded slowly, like she was coming to a decision. She was still looking at Qrow. "…we do."

Qrow finally spoke up, apparently not liking being left out. "Sounds peachy. We should do that."

Taiyang ran over to Qrow and slung his arm around his shoulders. The blond was shorter, but he was a good height to act as a crutch for the black-haired boy. Qrow tried to pull away but it was clear his aura was well and truly exhausted, and Taiyang held onto him easily. Summer moved behind them, in part to keep an eye out for the Deathstalker, which was ramping up to charge them again, and partly to keep a watch on Taiyang. Raven took point.

Summer felt the spike of tension in her temples throb harsher as they sprinted forward. Qrow was struggling to even remain upright, and it honestly looked like Taiyang was doing most of the work. Summer hoped the cave was close, for both their sakes.

Raven was leading them to the Southeast—a little to the right of her and Qrow's original heading. The Deathstalker began knocking trees down behind them again in pursuit, and Summer briefly lamented the fact that Grimm did not run out of stamina. She was certain they could have outrun the thing otherwise.

It was about five minutes before they started their approach. Raven set to work moving the covering boulder aside, forced to physically roll it away. Summer raised an eyebrow. Clearly, Raven and Taiyang did not want this place found.

"Hurry Raven," The blond encouraged. "That thing is not that far behind us."

Raven swore at him but the boulder moved aside an inch, and Raven used the momentum to create more.

Summer hung back and turned to the Deathstalker, blades crossed defensively. It was only about thirty yards away, five or so rows of trees to knock down before it arrived. Her arms shook with exhaustion, but she held her form. She was the first line of defense—she could not be weak.

"Bring him in!" Raven yelled, and she heard a grunt as Taiyang lugged her partner in. Summer started backing up toward the cave entrance.

"Come on, we need to close it together!"

That was to Summer. The Deathstalker was only two or three trees away from her now. She turned and sprinted to the cave entrance, racing a creature that could quite literally bowl over forests.

She made it to the entrance, peeked over her shoulder, and saw the golden tail lashing at her back.

Summer jumped, twirled, and caught the tip at the intersection of her crossed blades. The force of the Grimm's strike sent her flying back, head over heels, and she sailed straight into the depths of the cave. She saw a flash of red, heard some kind of blast as rocks fell, and cracked her head on the cave wall.

She was out before she knew what happened.

* * *

Tai was much more impressed by Beacon now, to be quite frank.

The maze was kind of fun in a puzzle-box way, but this? This was _exciting_.

Okay, so the whole injured-hunters thing was a downer, but this was all kind of thrilling, yeah?

He looked down at his and Raven's two charges. Qrow and Summer had clearly been through the wringer. He wondered how long they'd been forced to run away from the Deathstalker—the thing was massive, and Taiyang applauded their pragmatism in running away. Pretty hard to kill something that big, at least at their level. He seriously doubted he could do much better—he was pretty sure Qrow, at least, was a better fighter than him. Summer was harder to get a read on since she seemed pretty fond of concealing body language and facial expressions, but there was a sharpness to her aura that told him she was Not to be Fucked With.

Raven wasn't exactly hovering over Qrow, but she did glare every time Tai shifted in their direction. It was sweet in a homicidal kind of way. Also it was going to make it difficult to help Qrow without her notice.

He glanced around the cave, looking for something to distract her.

"You want to check out the back of the cave? See if it leads anywhere?" They'd been down here almost ten minutes now, and everything that could be done for Qrow and Summer had been. Well almost, but that was why he needed a distraction.

She pinned a vicious red-eyed gaze on him. "Why don't you do it?"

Tai shrugged, keeping his body language congenial. "I was going to check out the debris, see if we can't dig ourselves out without causing a cave-in."

She rolled her eyes. "And what makes you so much more qualified on the subject than me?"

Taiyang fought to keep his expression and tone light. "Learned about load-bearing structures from a friend."

That wasn't even a lie. Todd was an architect, and Taiyang asked him frequently about how he put his designs together, growing up. Fascinating field, really.

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Scowled.

"Fine," she grumbled. Then very deliberately looked at Qrow, and gave Tai a warning glance.

He understood. If his sister were injured, he would—

Anyway. Raven and Qrow seemed to have…issues, if her behavior was anything to go by. He was willing to indulge her.

As soon as she was around the corner, and her aura showed no signs of hesitance or distraction beyond an acceptable level, he moved over to Qrow.

He wasn't exactly _sure_ he could do this. But he knew he could manipulate natural energy, and he knew it was possible for Hunters to transfer their own aura to others, if they were skilled enough. In theory, he should be able to channel that energy into Qrow without the accompanying aura-loss on his part.

He hooked his aura to Qrow's as shallowly as possible. Anything deeper would be an unforgivable invasion of privacy. Not to mention intolerably uncomfortable for Tai—Qrow's aura was anything but inviting. It was actually kinda painful to be connected like this—it choked and clawed at Tai's throat, weighed deep on his shoulders and felt like a blade between his ribcage.

If Tai needed any further proof that Qrow and Raven grew up in some circle of hell, this would be it.

It wouldn't hurt so much if Qrow were aware, probably. But still.

Taiyang winced in sympathy when he realized how low Qrow's aura actually was. Poor guy passed out on him right as they were getting into the cave. He hadn't seemed all that aware of his surroundings even two minutes into their run. Even though he'd been unconscious for nearly ten minutes, the blond estimated Qrow had only about three percent of his aura left. It was frankly impressive he stayed conscious as long as he had.

He scanned one more time for Raven's signature. She was still heading deeper into the cave. Good.

Tai concentrated, and pulled in external energy. It was cold and…wet, for lack of a better word, but it gathered around his hands willingly enough. He placed his hands on Qrow's shoulders and _pushed_ —

Qrow's aura spiked, dropped a little, and held at what Taiyang would estimate to be about twenty percent.

Not a perfect fix. Not even a healthy level. But it would do for now.

He turned to Summer. He didn't have a lot of time. Qrow would be waking up soon and Raven—she was heading back.

Tai had pulled Summer's hood back earlier—it was necessary to check her head injury. She was pretty, with dark red hair that would have been impossible to distinguish from her blood except for the matting it caused. Poor girl cracked her skull against the ceiling of the cave after defending herself with some truly impressive reaction times. He suspected she had rather spectacular abilities in the realm of aura sensing. Nothing on par with _himself_ of course, but then no one was.

He hesitantly hooked himself to her aura. He'd barely exchanged ten words with her, and he got the impression that she was extraordinarily wary of him. He supposed that made sense if she was herself a good sensor. She probably didn't trust his projected aura signature _at all_.

Summer's aura was…complicated. Icy, almost, and bitter, a barrier between herself and the world as much as her cloak was. A block of tension settled under his sternum and Tai considered the idea that _he_ had the happiest childhood of the four of them with some incredulity.

That…was not a scenario he frequently encountered.

She was in a bit better shape than Qrow, though not by much. Maybe seven percent? It had to be less than fifteen, otherwise the head injury would be healed right now.

He gathered the energy, placed his hands and _pushed_ —

Her aura shot up, and like Qrow's, dropped a bit before holding steady. She was far less responsive to the foreign energy, but it would be enough to heal her concussion, he was pretty sure. He wondered if it was because her situation was a bit less desperate than Qrow's, or if it was due to individual variance.

He heard footsteps approaching and noticed Raven was right around the corner. He shot up and went over to the wall, adopting a casual stance as he surveyed the debris.

When Summer was thrown backward, Raven jumped forward to keep the Deathstalker away. She managed to slice the thing's tail off, but she was too deep underground when she delivered her strike. It was powerful enough to cause a collapse at the mouth of the cave. Luckily the shaking stopped soon after and he and Raven tended to their charges as best they could.

There were three load-bearing rocks, that Tai could see. One large one in the middle, about as wide as Tai was tall, and two smaller ones on either side. He frowned at it.

This…this could be a problem, quite frankly.

Yeah, they'd kind of planned to head underground when Tai noticed Summer and Qrow, but he had expected to have a viable exit. A means of defecting.

He supposed they _could_ move the rocks but…well, it was a last-resort kind of strategy.

Raven's footsteps stalked up behind him, and he could feel the irritation rolling off of her. He assumed it was mostly just a mask for her concern over Qrow, who she definitely looked over before even sparing Tai a second of her attention.

It was cute in the way mother tigers were cute.

It _was_ kind of nice to know Raven had a heart under all that irritability though.

He would never, _ever_ tell her that. He was not sure he could completely outrun her.

"Well?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Probably don't want to move these unless we have to," he told her. "Do we?"

She shrugged. "I went back about five-hundred yards. It was still going."

Tai frowned. "Well, when they wake up—"

Qrow groaned, but didn't move, and Tai quietly stepped over to Summer while Raven moved toward her twin. He wasn't sure if Qrow had seen her face or not and wanted to let her maintain her privacy if she preferred it that way.

But as he reached for her hood, a small hand snatched his wrist in an iron grip. Taiyang winced, and relaxed his hand, trying to convey the lack of threat. His aura was the only thing that kept his wrist from bruising an ugly purple color. And possibly from breaking, since she seemed to be unconsciously drawing on her own aura to capture his hand.

Large silver eyes blinked open blearily. They seemed to glow even in the dark of the cave. Taiyang smiled at her in an attempt to make her relax—most people trusted a smile on an instinctive level.

Summer, as it turned out, was not most people.

As soon as she registered that there was someone hovering over her, she yanked his wrist down and used his instinctive resistance to pull herself up. Faster than he could see, she flipped around his arm and kicked off of the cave wall—only to knee him between the shoulder blades with added force. Tai, already on his knees, collapsed under the assault. His right arm burned as she wrenched his hand to his shoulder, and before he could really do anything her left leg slid under his neck and he found his whole frame immobilized in a headlock.

Tai grunted, but didn't fight. This might be payback for coming near her without permission, but he suspected it was mostly done out of instinct and a sense of vulnerability. He tested her grip a little, just out of curiosity, and had to tamp down the urge to revolt when he found it solid.

He felt Raven's attention turn toward them, and he tried to project a relaxed aura. It made Summer's grip turn just a bit harsher, but Raven didn't intervene.

He needed her to trust him, at least enough to work with him. The best strategy here was to give her some measure of control over the situation.

"My swords," she hissed, "Where are they?"

Well that was easy, at least. "By the wall, right there." He nodded as best he could toward the items. They were only a few feet from her. He and Raven hadn't wanted to try and slip them underneath her initially, they hadn't been sure if she had a spinal injury or not. He was grateful for it now—he would probably have steel kissing his neck if she actually had access to them.

As it was, she would need to release him to get her precious swords.

Good news for him, bad news for her.

Summer did so almost reluctantly, and sprinted for her weapons. Tai rose slowly, not wanting to startle her, and brushed himself off, ignoring the lingering muscle strain. By the time he was done, the swords were safe in their sheaths, and Summer was fingering the pommels like they anchored her. She gave Taiyang an appraising look before shifting her gaze to the rest of the cavern.

"Qrow?" She demanded. It was clear she was inquiring about a status update rather than calling his name. That probably meant she knew how bad-off he was. At least before Taiyang got to him.

"'m 'ere," the other man groaned out. Raven looked genuinely surprised to see him awake. Tai surveyed the both of them with a generous amount of pride.

…which was instantly rewarded with a sharp glance of suspicion from Summer.

Jeez, she just did not trust him _at all_.

Granted, he _had_ just secretly jump-started her aura by invading her privacy and not telling her about it, but _still_. He had the best intentions!

"What happened?" she demanded, her eyes trained on Qrow as Raven goaded him into standing up.

"Raven caused a cave-in," Taiyang answered. Summer's sharp gaze turned on him full force.

Qrow gave a low, pained chuckle. "Graceless…as always, Rae."

"I will drop you." She looked like she meant it too.

"Noted," Qrow acknowledged.

Summer seemed to relax a little at the sight of her partner standing. Tai made a mental note of the fact that she seemed to trust Qrow, at least a little.

"The cave goes much deeper," Raven told Summer, "There's probably another entrance. This one is blocked."

Tai watched as Summer looked toward the entrance of the cave with a conflicted expression. She didn't like being trapped. He could understand that.

"It's okay though," he told her, "because we were always going to have to go underground anyway."

Summer's eyes lighted on him, and Tai was amazed again at the way they seemed to glow even in the pitch black of the cave. "Explain."

He grinned. Explaining convoluted puzzles was one of his favorite pastimes. "The maze was the clue. And the way the Grimm popped up out of nowhere." He saw a flash of recognition in her eyes, and assumed she noticed this as well. Her aura sensing really was impressive then. "Look, you guys didn't find any relics, did you?"

Summer shook her head, and Tai could see the wheels turning. So he grinned again and smiled. "I'm pretty sure it's because they're underground." And if his guess was correct, probably under the center of the maze itself.

Qrow was skeptical. "Why…would you assume that? Probably…just haven't…run into them yet."

Tai kept his gaze trained on Summer. Her eyes flashed with concern for Qrow.

No wonder she kept the hood up. She was _very_ easy to read.

Raven was the one who answered. "We ran into a couple of people who searched other areas. They went up to the area around the school itself, and found nothing. And no one had discovered the relics yet—they checked the auditorium."

"Which means," Taiyang interjected, picking up the thread of logic. "That it's probably in some place pretty unconventional if eighty pairs of students have yet to find it."

And also, Taiyang had a hunch. He couldn't really explain it any differently. Something about Ozpin's speech from the day before. It was still striking him as odd.

"Underground," Qrow mused, and Taiyang got the feeling that they would have more of a fight if he wasn't recovering from severe aura exhaustion. He made a mental note that his artificial jump-start did not immediately recover the subject, but could serve to wake someone up in a pinch. He hoped Qrow and Summer would actually be able to use the aura he gave them. If not, they were basically just animated zombies right now.

He fought to keep his face from revealing anything as he realized—if they used their own aura up because they couldn't convert the natural energy, they might actually run the risk of dying from aura exhaustion. Literal aura exhaustion.

 _Shit_. Shit shit shit fuck _shit_.

Goyan damn him, he should have just used his own aura, and then converted the natural energy around him into _his_ body. He could actually make use of that stuff.

Well there was nothing to do about it now. He just had to hope they attributed any difficulties they may or may not have to their exhaustion and or injuries. Otherwise…well, Summer was unlikely to ever let him out of her sight, if she found out what he did. Qrow may or may not have a similar reaction.

He felt a harsh twist of guilt spike his gut. Here he was asking them to trust him, and he was letting them walk around potentially about to _die_ —

Wait. His fears were unfounded, probably. Qrow would already be down most likely if he was actually exhausting his aura. He and Summer both had seals up.

"How do you know this cave is connected to the underground maze network?" Summer asked.

Taiyang shrugged. "We don't. We were just exploring it when I noticed you guys."

Summer's eyes narrowed in deep distrust. Taiyang mentally berated himself. It was a bad idea to let Summer cotton on to just how good his range actually was. He could see her doing the math in her head, and the way her grip tightened on the sword hilt when she figured it out.

Her next question surprised him, just a little. "Can you sense the relics?"

Raven let go of Qrow, and the latter used the wall to stand for a second, before straightening unassisted.

Taiyang shook his head, a little impressed that she was willing to use his skills despite her apparent aversion to him. "No. This was just the first entrance underground we found. We were going to explore it more when you guys showed up.

Summer looked to the cave entrance again, and her gaze grew distant. He realized she was trying to sense if there were Grimm on the other side. The answer was, unfortunately, several. It looked like the Deathstalker attracted friends in a similar weight class.

It was one of the more confusing things about Grimm. They were very single-minded, and once they decided on their prey they didn't give up unless presented with a better option. Not even when they lost sight of them.

They would almost definitely need to find another entrance. With Qrow and Summer as depleted as they were, it was almost a guaranteed suicide mission.

Summer, thankfully, seemed to realize this, and turned to the back of the cave.

"We should go then," she encouraged. Taiyang found himself…not exactly energized, but…emboldened at the sight of her pale figure descending into the earth. Qrow looked at Raven and shrugged. His partner raised an eyebrow at Tai, who grinned.

"Come on," he said smiling, "we don't want them to take credit for our idea."

* * *

These chapters just keep getting longer. Why? What deities have I angered? I was aiming for 4k with this one?

Just in case it's not obvious, "Hunter" is the gender-neutral term for a Huntsman or Huntress in Remnant. At least in this story.

The Grimm/Aura thing. This will be explained more later or at least expanded on, but for now think of it as a metaphysical form of molecular diffusion. You know, like how if you pour salt in water it will evenly distribute itself into the solution? It's like that, but, you know. With your soul, which isn't terrifying at all.

In my head canons (which is where this whole story is springing from, like fucking Athena from Zeus' skull guys), Remnant has multiple religious traditions. **[SPOILER FOR SEASON 4]:** Qrow tells us that "not many people are super religious anymore"-although interestingly he never really specifies whether he is or is not, and _yes_ , I have theories about that too-so I assume that Remnant, like our world, has many religious traditions which evolved over time and/or faded into or out of popularity. **[END SPOILER]** And, much like how people in medieval Europe, who were definitely Christians at the time, still used the ancient Greek and Roman and Norse pantheons of gods in everyday language, so too does Remnant's inhabitants. Summer references the Solitasian goddess of the sun, Lythan. Tai references the Eastern Sanusian goddess of death, Goyan. Yes, I wrote associated religious fables/contexts/mythologies for them, and those two at least will probably be revealed in-story. You would be surprised how easy coming up with religions is.

...yes that is the most blasphemous thing I have ever communicated. I am sorry.

One more thing to note-Summer's semblance is not identical to Ruby's. It's not her speed/teleportation thing, whatever you want to call it. Summer has a unique Semblance, just like everyone else in the show who is not a Schnee. Same goes for Tai and Yang. Now that doesn't mean Semblances can't be similar-look at Blake and Sun, who can both make copies of themselves, or Emerald and Neo, who can make illusions. But the point is, every Semblance is unique to the person wielding it. Unless you're a Schnee, and then you have the same Semblance UNLESS YOU'RE WHITLEY BECAUSE DAMN WE FOUND OUT SOMETHING HUGE ABOUT REMNANT WITH THAT, IT'S NOT THAT WHITLEY DOESN'T WANT THE SAME ABILITIES AS WINTER AND WEISS, HE'S JUST INCAPABLE OF IT, WHICH MEANS OTHER PEOPLE ARE TOO DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?! _**PLOT**_. PLOT IS WHAT IT MEANS. AND _**CHARACTER GROWTH**_.

Anyway. Let me know how you liked it, or even if you hated it. Or if you hate government corruption, because yeah, we're looking at it (HE'S SPENT $10 MILLION ON VACATIONS. IN ONE MONTH. WTF?).


	4. 1-4: Team STRQ

.

 **PART I: Covenant**

 **Chapter IV: Team STRQ**

* * *

 _"Set the foot down with distrust on the crust of the world - it is thin." Edna St. Vincent Millay_

* * *

There were few things, Raven decided, that she disliked more than traveling underground. It was cold down here, and damp. Every slope in the cavern ceiling looked precarious, and she had to keep her eyes lowered in order to prevent herself from growing too anxious over it. The thought that there were thousands of tons of rock and earth above her right now…

Well it didn't bear thinking about. At all.

She still did.

She fought her discomfort. She was never a fan of being underground. The only times she was okay with waiting in the back of the Tribe's forces to strike was when their plans involved sewers or underground mountain passes, because there was always too much closed space and—

Raven took a deep breath. Relaxed. Focused on the floor.

It wasn't like they were going too terribly deep. This particular cave barely sloped downward—imperceptible over a short distance, but due to how long they'd been walking Raven estimated they'd descended almost forty feet underground over time.

So it was easy going, but she still didn't like it. And the fact that it was cold, windy and damp was not helping anything.

She supposed it was good that there was water running down the walls. It meant there was an exit somewhere down here, or they would be swimming. And the draftiness of the cave suggested a wind tunnel effect. The fact that there was still a noticeable breeze with the entrance they used blocked meant there were multiple exits. Good and bad news—they had no idea where they were going, but they had a high likelihood of getting out of here without plowing through several tons of rock and a pack of monstrous Grimm.

…Raven made a mental note to set her standards for good news a bit higher.

The cave was just wide enough that everyone had comfortable maneuverability if they walked single-file. Raven had the rear, and Taiyang walked a few steps in front of her with an infuriating sense of calm in his easy gate. Qrow shuffled in front of Taiyang, and Raven was watching him carefully. He woke up…remarkably quickly, for someone as depleted of aura as he had been. It was odd, and Raven was not exactly sure how he was standing. Paradoxically, the longer he was awake the more Qrow seemed to recover. His gait was smoother and he hadn't stumbled in five minutes or swayed in ten.

Summer, her brother's bitchy partner, was a similar case. Raven didn't exactly pay her much attention after she got herself knocked out though, so she had no means of gaging the comparative oddity of that. Judging by the way she incapacitated the blond oaf though, she was fine.

Raven kind of wanted to hate her. She came from money, Raven was sure of it. She had a clipped Atlas accent indicative of a very expensive education, if Raven knew her marks. And she had an attitude about her that set off all of Raven's warning signs. But she also kind of owed her for keeping Qrow alive, so.

The girl in white was walking too far ahead of Raven to really see her shape, even with the white cloak. It was dark down here, and even with her adjusted eyesight she couldn't quite see more than ten feet ahead. It was unfortunate no one thought to bring a torch or a lighter or something.

Up ahead, Summer paused.

"Left," Taiyang suggested. She hesitated for a second more before marking the cave wall with her sword in a few deft strokes.

"Remind me again why we're just following the wind down here?" Raven asked as they pressed on. She knew _why_ , but honestly she was getting a little frustrated. And bored.

"We have no way of knowing where we're going down here," Tai told her patienty. Raven wanted to tell him her internal compass was fine, thank you, but didn't because it wouldn't do to let him in on just how good her navigation skills were. Qrow, likewise, said nothing. "It's going to be better for us to just get out of here and search for an entrance closer to the center of the maze. We think the relics are there because the ruins seem like as good a place to look as any. And since there's a strong draft down here, that means there're at least two more exits."

Raven scowled as the draft blew her hair around her face again. "How long before we give up and start moving rock? We have no idea how extensive this cave system is." That, and going up top at this point would be pretty damn useless. If her internal compass was correct, and it always was, then they were close to the underside of that field the maze was in, about half a mile East of it, if she had to guess. They'd been walking down here for almost an hour now, so that

Qrow surprised her by speaking. "I don't think that'll be a problem. Look at the walls, Rae."

She looked. "I don't see—"

Except she _did_.

They were straighter, the edges smooth and curved, no longer bulging and wavering around them as they walked. The stone looked more like metal than rock. And it was starting to get more humid down here, and warm, like a greenhouse or—

She looked up and saw the ceiling covered in green ivy.

The maze. They were walking under the maze.

"There're people up ahead," Tai informed them, "about a mile away and they're not moving." Raven didn't miss how everyone seemed to fall into a defensive stance. Summer looked particularly tense, being at the front of the line and therefore the first to come across strangers.

Wait. She could _see_ Summer. Clearly.

"The light," she told them. The darkness lifted so gradually she hadn't even noticed. Taiyang blinked and then gave her a tense grin. She ignored him, and looked up ahead toward the source. It was faint but she could see thin streams of non-directional light fixtures in the corners of the ceiling.

The light became brighter—a faint blue color, and after another ten minutes she could see the tunnel clearly, even if she couldn't exactly see the top panel where the walls were attached.

Up ahead, Summer stopped. Raven craned her head around Qrow and saw why. The relatively level path they'd been walking on declined sharply, closer to ninety degrees than forty-five. It looked more like a slide than anything.

Summer hesitated at the top of the top of the decline, then cocked her head. "Two people?" she asked. Raven realized the question was directed toward Taiyang, and forced down her irritation over that. It took all of ten minutes for Raven to realize Taiyang was almost preternaturally gifted in aura usage. She hadn't asked, obviously, but she suspected it had something to do with his Semblance.

Summer, on the other hand, was clearly very good at aura sensing, albeit on a much more reasonable scale. Raven still couldn't sense anyone, and they had to be pretty close by now.

Aura-sensing was…not her strong suit.

"They still haven't moved." her partner told the other girl, and she nodded before stepping forward to slide carefully down the steep descent. The ceiling once again turned to stone as they went further and further into the earth. It was less nerve-wracking now, though—this was obviously reinforced, and Raven wasn't _sure_ but she had a gut feeling that they were standing on the edge of the maze's center.

Qrow followed, and Raven was glad to see he looked a lot better now. Still tired and a bit haggard, but his face wasn't nearly so drawn and he wasn't so pale. Her idiotic partner had the audacity to wink at her before jumping into a controlled slide, and Raven rolled her eyes before following with much less enthusiasm.

None of them spoke as they descended the chute. Keeping her balance was a bit of a challenge—Summer, being the smallest of them and therefore not quite as affected by gravity, was going a bit too slow for the people behind her, and not running into the rest of them was proving to be a pain in Raven's ass.

She got fed up with it quickly and growled an immoderate "faster," down the line. She saw Summer turn her head slightly, and ignore Raven entirely which, she wouldn't deny, made her more than a little irritated.

But it was only another thirty feet before everything flattened out again. Absentmindedly, Raven brushed herself off and looked around, casting her senses out.

They were in a circular chamber, about fifteen feet between the ground and ceiling and thirty feet in diameter. There were three other entrances in addition to the one Raven and the rest of them just exited. In the center was a raised dais, with a terribly bright light emanating from the center. Raven fought the urge to cover her eyes before they adjusted. Taiyang had no such compunctions and Raven noticed his wince.

The biggest surprise, however, were the two people standing near the dais. Both were boys, and they were standing on the same side of the room as the four of them. One carried a battle axe, and the other was a stag faunus with strangely regal antlers.

The boys turned to the four newcomers and grinned.

"Oh hey, you made it!" Said the bulky one. Raven raised an eyebrow. They clearly recognized at least one member of the group, and it definitely wasn't her, so—

"Er…what were your names again?" Qrow asked, scratching the back of his neck carelessly. Raven knew him well and could see the gesture for what it was—a ruse to put his hand closer to Kismet's hilt.

"Zilar Winchester, and Ardit Baikal," Summer supplied. There was no inflection in her voice but Raven could sense a certain hesitance regardless.

The light from the dais shadowed the boys' faces and made it impossible to tell what they were thinking because both of them had water-tight seals. "Got it in one," the faunus boy chirped cheerfully.

Taiyang stepped forward, equally genial. "I'm Taiyang," he offered, and turned to her expectantly.

She seriously needed to reevaluate her ability to judge people. Becoming this guy's partner was a terrible idea. "Raven Branwen," she muttered, irritated.

"So…Qrow's sister?" The big one asked.

Raven was not used to being introduced as such and this was the second time in one day. She found it irritating. "Twin."

"Cool."

There was an awkward beat where the six of them stared at each other.

"So," Taiyang began, "What're you guys up to?" Something about his tone and countenance made Raven want to hit him.

The faunus boy shrugged. "Well, you know. Getting chased underground by monsters. Trying to collect a relic. That kind of thing."

Another pause.

"...any progress on that front?" Taiyang asked, apparently tired of waiting for them to expand on their own.

The bigger one nodded. "Well we all found the relics, so. That's something I suppose."

"Wait what?" Raven asked, suddenly interested in the otherwise painful conversation. She stalked forward and felt the rest of her party follow close on her heels.

Battle axe pointed to the center of the dais as she approached on his right, and as Raven drew nearer she could see what he meant. The center of the dais was actually…a pit? And it was filled with…rocks?

"What." She asked, because what the hell kind of relics were those?

They were just…rocks. Circular and flat, about the size of her palm, a sleek grey color washed out by the bright blue light. And they obviously _were_ the relics, because there was just no way these things were just coincidentally sitting here when these guys, too, were herded here, and she could _feel_ —

"Woah," Taiyang whispered, and Raven actually looked up at him because it was the first time he actually seemed thrown since she met him…like four or five hours ago? And in that time they'd escaped an electrified maze, traipsed aimlessly through an overgrown forest, were nearly killed by a ridiculously-sized Deathstalker, and travelled an hour underground with no light in an unmarked cave system. He wasn't easily thrown.

Her partner's eyes were blown wide, his mouth hanging open in shock as he stared into the pit, the lights set into the bottom of it throwing his features in sharp relief.

"It's aura-sensitive," the faunus boy on her left explained, and Raven turned to him. The light was throwing interesting shadows on his forehead and the ceiling from his antlers. "At least, that's what we've gathered so far."

Taiyang just nodded dumbly and crouched next to the edge. He raised his right hand, hesitating for a second. There was a flash on the edge of Raven's senses as he gathered his aura in his hand, and then he reached down to close his fist around the nearest stone, otherwise indistinguishable from the rest.

"Wait—!" The faunus boy cried, but it was too late and the blond let out a sharp hiss before rearing back and dropping the stone. He stood slowly, shaking out his hand like it burned.

"A little warning might have been nice," he grouched. Raven approved of irritation in all its forms so she wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment.

"Sorry," the faunus said sheepishly. "we—ah—we already tried that. I didn't think you would too. Sorry."

Taiyang didn't seem inclined to hold a grudge, and he waved off the apologies distractedly, his attention already diverted to the pit. He walked back up to the edge with significantly more wariness than before. Raven couldn't exactly blame him but also kind of wanted to call him a wuss.

"They're aura-receptive," Taiyang said after a moment. "But for some reason when I tried just now, it rejected my aura and sent the feedback into my hand."

"Oh Tisan, you used your aura just now?" Battle axe asked, wincing in sympathy. "I just tried to grab it."

Raven had to admit, she was glad she wasn't her partner right now, and judging by the way he kept on clenching and unclenching his fist he wasn't so pleased with the situation either. Aura feedback was notoriously painful. Raven experienced it a few times on a raid where she ran into the odd aura-protected room or box or whatever happened to be kind of valuable to someone rudimentarily skilled.

"There are twenty-one stones," Summer stated. Everyone turned to look because, hey, the mute speaks.

"Each pair of partners is probably s'posed to grab one," Qrow observed, his rough, familiar speech an almost comical contrast to Summer's almost delicate annunciation. Or it would be, if it wasn't indicative of so much that Raven would rather not be reminded of, thanks.

Battle axe pouted, and Raven lost any potential respect for him she might have otherwise had. "Someone already figured it out then."

Taiyang hummed distractedly. "Goodwitch did say to recover _a_ relic—with our partners, if I'm not mistaken."

He was right, so Raven didn't correct him, and glared at the glowing pit as if it would just spit out the rock she needed on principle.

It didn't.

She gave a mental sigh, and set her mind to work.

Aura-receptive stones that…reject aura. One stone for each pair of students. What else did the blonde bitch say? Some fluffy nonsense about how much they would need to work with their partners—

"Oh _shit_."

* * *

Summer looked up at Raven's exclamation. She had discovered over the last hour or so that the other girl was basically just a constant source of rumbling irritation on the edge of Summer's senses, with much of it, inexplicably, aimed at Summer herself. The break in her behavior was almost more startling than waking up with Taiyang hovering over her.

Almost. Not quite.

Raven's face was pale, any color she might have had washed out in the cool light. Her red eyes looked purple in the light. She was looking at Taiyang with unmitigated horror, and that raised all kinds of flags in Summer's head, because Raven did not strike her as someone who just let those kinds of emotions show.

"What?" the blonde asked, and for once Summer actually believed he was honestly surprised, "What's wrong?"

Raven was shaking her head in denial and Ardit looked both worried and excited.

"Did you figure it out?" the faunus asked eagerly, and Raven flinched.

"What the hell is wrong Rae?" Qrow asked, obviously bewildered. Raven did not seem to acknowledge him, which indicated nothing but bad news to Summer.

Raven swallowed, five pairs of eyes glued to her face. Summer saw her resolve steel in the tightening of her fists and the settling of her aura.

"I—it's." A deep breath. "They want us to perform synergy with our partners."

The room froze. Summer's mind blanked.

Zilar was the one to break the silence. " _What?_ " The horror on his face was palpable and Summer watched Ardit shift away from his partner unconsciously.

She did not blame him—not when she was doing the same.

" _Oh_." Taiyang breathed, and once again Summer actually believed he was genuinely horrified.

"That can't be right," Zilar protested, "that—no one just _does_ that with a stranger."

Ardit was tense. "I think—Goodwitch was talking about how we would need to work with our partners. This—this could be what she meant."

Summer could not move, could not make her brain work or think or process. Synergy was…well it was supposed be intimate, an act of trust. It was developed as an augment in battle, for people to use in truly dire situations. It was supposed to be a last-ditch sort of effort, even when performing it between two people who trusted each other. It was…uncomfortable, because for all the added power it was—a person was _laid bare_ to the other, it would be like revealing the center of her soul, and she _could not do it_ , she _would_ not—

" _Fuck_ ," Qrow spat, and he stalked to the other side of the room. Summer could not help but be relieved at the added space and backed herself up to the other wall, facing the room so she could see every occupant. Her senses were desperately attuned to their movements, her mind and body instinctively wary in response to her chaotic mix of fear and horror and disgust floating around.

There was a moment of silence, and Raven's uncharacteristically hesitant voice broke through Summer's silent panic.

"I—Qrow and I have—we could switch—"

 _No,_ Summer panicked, suddenly filled with nauseating revulsion, _no I cannot, I cannot do it, I cannot do it with Taiyang, I—no, I would fail first—_

"They're watching, Rae." Qrow told her, his anger aimed more at the situation than anything, but Summer could not contain her flinch in the face of it. "And they marked down who was partnered with who. _That's why they were in the maze in the first place_."

Summer was shaking hard enough that her cloak vibrated—this was not, this should _never_ —

"Why would they _force_ such a thing," asked Zilar, his voice quiet with bewildered terror.

"To forge a bond," Taiyang spat, and Summer trusted his fury, because how could he be anything else? "They—they're using this to push people together, forge functional teams quicker. It helps iron out the kinks in teamwork a whole lot faster." He looked rightfully furious about it.

And Summer could echo the sentiment because _how dare they force something like that_. Synergy was supposed to be something used between people who trusted each other implicitly. Something that amplified the participant's abilities to something greater than the sum of their parts. It was supposed to be—not _sacred_ but—honored, respected. This—this cheapened it all.

 _What kind of place was this_ , she wondered, _where have I come?_

And worst of all, it would force Summer to—to trust—to open up to—

Summer did not realize she had wrapped her arms around her torso until her knuckles brushed Luna Cruor's solid hilts. She could not relax her hands enough to grasp them.

"I—" five pairs of eyes snapped to the faunus, but he was only looking at his partner. "I'm willing to—to try. If you are." The tall boy looked away in embarrassment.

No one said anything. Summer could not even fathom speaking.

Zilar did not move, his expression frozen in something unreadable.

Ardit backtracked. "I—sorry—just never mind—"

"Okay."

Ardit looked, quite literally, like a deer caught in the headlights. Summer stared at both of them in disbelief.

There was a second of hesitation, where Summer felt the entire room ask the same question— _are they_ _really going to do this?_

Then the faunus offered his hand, a thin sheen of blue-grey around it. His aura. It was already activated and his seals down, Summer could feel the riot of emotion in the thin boy—

Zilar took the offered hand with his own, and Summer's senses _exploded_.

It was like fireworks going off in her head, or gunshots behind her ears. The room buzzed with energy and Summer curled around herself and moaned helplessly at the incandescent beauty of it, too great to witness, something terrible and wonderful all at once. It was more than emotion, it was more than aura, it was something unlike anything she had ever experienced. The light at the center of the pit grew so bright as to be blinding—Summer could sense the difference even with her eyes closed and covered by her hood.

The world hung still for a suffocating minute and then—it was over.

Summer looked up, hesitantly, still cowering under the hood of her cloak. Ardit and Zilar stood next to each other, uncomfortable but with a palpable sense of wonder and relief around them. Both were staring at the glowing stone in Ardit's hand.

"Hope?" Zilar asked after a moment. Ardit shrugged, equally confused.

"What?" Raven queried. It would seem she was somewhat recovered from her initial disgust.

"It's on the underside of the stone." Zilar supplied. Well at least that explained where the light was coming from.

They were still for a minute, and then by unspoken agreement the two of them made their way to one of the exits.

"It's not hard to get out this way," Zilar explained to the remaining students. Ardit seemed disinclined to speak, and Summer did not blame him. "I don't know about wherever you guys came from but. Yeah."

Ardit seemed eager to get away, and did not acknowledge them as he began climbing up a slope as steep as the one they descended to get here. Then Zilar followed him and the chamber descended once again to silence.

Well, silence, and Qrow's pacing. Summer watched him go back and forth along the wall like a caged animal, and could not muster the energy to care overmuch.

Taiyang sighed, breaking the tension. "Well at least we know it works," he told Raven. She pinned him with a look that could kill Grimm in response.

"That makes it all better, doesn't it," she snarked, but even Summer could tell her heart wasn't really in it, that she was mostly just nervous. Summer would be too if she was being forced to do this with Taiyang of all people. She barely trusted him enough to turn her back to him, let alone with—

"Well at least it makes it worth it," Taiyang responded, his gaze steady. Summer did not dare to move. She felt it the moment Raven acquiesced and it made her gut twinge with nausea.

" _Raven_ ," Qrow protested, and she glared at him.

"We don't have a choice," she snapped, and Qrow scowled but made no further remarks.

 _How can they—why are they just—_

Taiyang offered his hand, and it glowed with a warm gold. Raven hesitated a moment more before reaching out to take it.

This time, Summer shut down her aura-sensing as best she could. She wanted to watch, to see what happened with her eyes instead of her soul. She had no desire to witness either of their souls on display, she did not want to know either of them that way, she was too raw from Ardit and Zilar—

She could not ignore that sense completely, of course—Raven and Taiyang's synergy felt more…subtle, than Ardit and Zilar's. Where the previous pair felt more like an explosion in her temples, Summer felt Taiyang and Raven deep in her chest, a low rumbling of opposing forces. It was less overwhelming too, although Summer chalked that up to her attempts to cordon herself off from the rest of the world.

As it turned out, it was not the light at the bottom of the pit that brightened, but a single stone. At the very edge of the pit, the side closest to Summer, one of the flat grey disks glowed a bright, brilliant white that cut through the blue of the pit. It was also at the location farthest from Raven and Taiyang.

It seemed like it took too long for the two of them to notice. Both had an expression of subtle awe in their features, their eyes blown wide as they each looked at each other and at nothing at all. As one they began moving toward Summer, toward the glowing stone that they were sent to collect.

Summer, for her part, watched in morbid fascination, and curled tighter around herself as they drew nearer. She did not understand how they could do this, how they could just open themselves so callously to a veritable stranger. How they could appear as though it was anything other than a perversion of what this act was meant to be.

Eventually, they reached the stone, and Taiyang bent down to pull it from the pit. As he stood he held it delicately, with the pads of his fingers, as if he were afraid of it.

Then they dropped their hands, another unspoken agreement, and the stone did not glow so blindingly bright anymore. It retained a subtle hue of white but Summer could look at it without covering her eyes now.

No one spoke.

No one had to.

Raven's right hand slipped to her sword. "Let's go." She ordered, and stalked toward the exit Ardit and Zilar used just a few minutes ago. She put up a good front but Summer could sense she was deeply unsettled. Taiyang, pale, shaking, looking nauseous, was seemingly in complete agreement with her and followed without saying a word.

Something deep and anxious settled behind Summer's sternum as they made their way out.

 _Panic_ , she realized, and clutched at her chest.

She felt a pressure on her bladder and internally bemoaned the indignity of it—her fear was pungent in her mouth, and she could not feel the earth beneath her feet or the soft fabric of her cloak. There was only the fear, the silk of her anxiety as it spread through her and locked her joints and muscles and—and—

She did not realize her breathing was quicker than normal until her vision began to get fuzzy around the edges. She fought to control herself—and in an inspired fit of anxiety she cast her senses about to find Qrow—she could not let him get near her, she could not—

He was no longer pacing. He was standing quite still on the opposite side of the room. His attention was…on her.

The distance allowed her to relax. The attention made her tense. He was not going to—to force her to—at least not yet—

She took a deep, shaky breath through her nose. She released it harshly through her mouth. Repeat.

She noticed her position, finally, after two more unsteady breaths. Somewhere in the course of the last ten minutes Summer managed to curl herself into the corner between the wall and floor. Something akin to shame filled her, because she should be so much better than this by now, but she could not muster enough energy to move. Not—not right now.

Qrow seemed to realize she was calming down, at least externally. He moved away from the wall and started walking toward her with slow, deliberate steps. Summer squeezed herself into the wall in response. Qrow huffed a frustrated breath, and stopped a few steps in front of the pit. Summer turned her head slightly to watch him, one eye peeking out from under the hood.

"You know we have no choice, right?" he asked after a moment. His voice was quiet, but steady and solid.

" _No_." she responded, and she was surprised by the raspy quality of her own voice.

Qrow frowned. "Look, I know you don't trust me—"

"I _cannot_." She interrupted, because how could she trust him at all after only a few hours? He had yet to do something to earn her scorn but—but—

For some reason her response made his whole countenance soften. He started toward her again, and this time, for some inexplicable reason, she did not feel so threatened by it.

He came within a few steps of her, and Summer was about to move away because _too close, height advantage_ , when he crouched down. His face was shadowed by the pit behind him but she could see the relaxed line of his shoulder and knew he was not going to move any closer.

"What're you gonna do if we don't do this?" he asked reasonably. And it _was_ a reasonable question because if they did not do this they would likely not be allowed to enter Beacon, and if she was not enrolled in Beacon she would—she would—

In her mind's eye she saw the clean white uniforms of the General's Specialists, their ominous marches through snow-covered fields and macabre exercises on grotesque, faunus-shaped dolls. She flinched.

"I've got to," he told her. "I have no choice." His voice was soft and determined.

She shook her head. "I—I _need_ this."

He nodded like he understood, and offered her his hand. There was no aura coating it—he was just helping her to stand.

Summer still did not take his hand.

"I—" she swallowed. Shook her head in denial.

"I'll never ask you again," he promised, and he shifted so his eyes were visible to her past the brightness of the light. "Not unless you trust me."

And to her astonishment, he unlocked his seals just enough to let her know he meant it.

She could not go back. She could not otherwise move forward. Like usual, Summer simply had to move _through_.

She took his hand. He pulled her up with minimal force and she uncurled from her cramped position against the wall.

She stood without tipping on her shaky legs. She felt desperate suddenly, the pressure on her bladder there again, the urge to run strong in her heart and the twitching of her free hand.

 _I must_ , she told herself, _I must, I must_.

There was no _choice_. Not one she could live with, at any rate.

Qrow did not drop her hand, and she was grateful for the fingerless gloves she wore—she was too overwhelmed right now for so much skin-to-skin contact.

Carefully, with a strong sense of dread hanging about them, they walked to the edge of the pit. She turned toward Qrow, lowered her hood to look him in the eye, and with the shakiest of nods, told him she was ready.

Synergy was always meant to be something used in battle—to amplify aura, to increase a sensing range to truly incredible distances, to multiply strength by factors unique to the participants. Someone fast could become faster, someone injured could receive aura. It was developed by active Hunter partners, people who could not otherwise ask for help on missions. Traditionally, doing it with anyone who was not one's partner was considered a betrayal of sorts. Since the war that had changed, but people did it mostly out of necessity, and even then, sometimes a loss was considered preferable.

 _It was something intimate_ , her teacher always told her, _it was something shared with only those you trust_.

Summer never thought she would experience it.

Qrow unlocked his seals first, his hand wrapped in a dark red aura that tickled her skin. Summer took a deep breath and—

All she saw was red, blood and fire and violence and pain, an endless push for survival one day to the next, second to second, anger, _so much anger_ , at injustice at hate at pain inflicted on himself and others, a child cowering in fear of himself and the world around him, a protective sister with raven hair and red eyes who she _lovedhatedenvied_ _so much_ , a cruel name, ash in her mouth, sharp blades along her skin and _deathdeathdeath_ _ **pain**_ , get out get out get _out_ —

Instinctively she called on her own aura—ice was a balm to fire, and the feeling as it coalesced between them was— _indescribable_.

It was cooling and excising, tempered steel and flight, she could not breathe as she sensed violence but temperance and all the stars in the sky. It was this _resplendent_ , glowing thing, a product of opposing forces and beauty in ugliness and so many things Summer could not name, and it glowed between them with the force of _suns_.

She opened her eyes— _when did they close?_ —and the world looked different. Angles were sharper and shadows deeper and light more brilliant and colors more vibrant. Qrow's eyes veritably glowed with blood and violence and for the moment it did not scare her, because she could feel the terrible ache of his regret and ever-pulsing push to survive that so matched her own.

Slowly, as if waking from a dream or rising from a deep sea, she remembered why they were doing this at all. As one, the two of them turned toward the pit, and Summer had to wonder how anyone battled like this—with the world so different and so many feelings not one's own.

 _Practice_ , her mind supplied, but it was not her mind but theirs, it was both of them, it rose between them because there was no place where one ended and the other began, it was simply existence in the way all things did.

One flat disk in the very center of the pit called to them, its light bright and unique among the relics, a star among purest form. Their mind urged her to descend into the pit, and he lifted her gently down the two-foot drop.

 _Careful_ , their mind admonished, and it was not really a thought as her body picked its way across the pit. They could not touch the other stones—that way lay pain—and a memory of aura feedback flooded them. They could not tell from which of them it came.

Her fingers lifted the glowing stone gingerly, and they were surprised when the bottom of the pit proved itself soft. Daintily her body wove between the stones, his hand supporting hers all the while, and he lifted her back to the top when she drew close enough.

 _Too long_ , their mind said, _too long_.

Simultaneously their hands released and—

Summer came back to herself with a gasp, shaking, the glowing disk in her left palm. She backed away from Qrow like she was afraid of a blow and she was because _never_ in her wildest dreams did she expect _that_.

She kept moving until she hit a wall and she heard Qrow swear behind her but she did not care, she could not, because there was a twisting riot in her stomach and in her mind and she was breathing too quickly again and—

Summer locked her seals as tightly as she could, shutting down all awareness of the world outside herself. It was a temporary measure, just until she could breathe again.

One beat. Two. In. Out.

"Did you see—" she gasped, shaken, "what I—"

Qrow did not speak, and that was an answer in itself.

"I have not—I have never done this before."

She did not see him nod—her eyes were screwed shut—but she got the sense he did. "I know. Sorry."

It was five more seconds before her breathing evened out a little. She stood from the wall, refusing to cower away from this again, and suddenly embarrassed by her own behavior. It was not Qrow's fault that this was overwhelming her, that this was—that something like this was so terrible for her. And after something like that, it was…cruel of her, to treat him as such a burden. Especially after he made it as easy as possible for her.

"I apologize," she whispered, making sure to look Qrow in the eye.

He did not acknowledge her apology, but Summer got the sense he accepted it anyway—or at least did not hold her fear against her. "What does the rock say?"

Summer stared in confusion for a moment before remembering—the relics had words carved into them.

Carefully, she turned it over in her palm. It did not burn her, but she wondered what would happen if she gave it to Qrow. She would not be testing it.

The script on the relic was blocky, almost childish. But it was clear and easy enough to read for all the glowing light it emitted.

"Endure," she told him, her voice almost reverentially quiet and for some reason she was unsurprised. "It says endure."

* * *

Qrow's hands were shoved in his pockets as he grumpily made his way into Beacon's auditorium. Summer was a quiet shadow behind him, her cloak whispering against the ground and her normally reserved presence anxious.

 _Not that I can blame her_ , he thought rather vindictively. Not after the things he saw. And he knew from Raven's testimony that he was not an easy person to perform a synergy with, and that was coming from his own twin sister, so.

The headmaster of this stupid school was standing in the middle of the auditorium, sipping coffee and looking intently at a scroll. The bleachers were nearly filled with people, and Qrow assumed most of them were upperclassmen and faculty, come to watch the commencement ceremony for the new class.

 _Fuck them all_ , he thought angrily, and three quarters of the people in the auditorium turned their attention to Qrow. For a second he thought about cussing them all out mentally just to bug them, but cut himself short when he noticed Summer clam up and Raven, sitting near the front, was giving him a Look.

He gave a mental sigh, and let it go. Summer had calmed down considerably since the cave but she still seemed skittish, and maybe it was a result of their recent synergy but he was having an easier time reading her and honestly her nervousness was a little distracting.

Goodwitch approached them, her heels sharp against the stone floor and her bearing direct. It was the first time she came close enough for him to really observe her and immediately he realized she was younger than he'd thought. Probably only a few years older than him, actually. Mid-twenties, max. Her green eyes narrowed on Summer, who was outwardly about the same as always—the hood certainly helped in that regard.

"The relic?" She asked bluntly, holding out her hand. Summer gave her the stone carefully, like she was afraid to drop it. Goodwitch read the back, made a note on her clipboard, and gestured to the still-empty section Raven and Taiyang were seated in.

"I applaud your efforts, Mr. Branwen, Ms. Rose." There was a note of warmth and sympathy there that Qrow wasn't really sure what to do with. "Please take a seat—the other students should finish soon."

Qrow gave her a perfunctory nod—she may have been the messenger but Qrow knew that Ozpin was the one who actually concocted that absurd scavenger hunt—and moved toward his sister.

Raven gave him a speculative look as he approached, and because she was his twin he could tell there was a note of concern in her eyes. He waved it off by not acknowledging it.

"You guys made it," Taiyang greeted, and behind him Summer stiffened in suspicion, her tightened aura brushing against his senses.

Qrow had to agree with the sentiment. That Deathstalker took him by surprise back in the forest, and his aura broke. He had to keep fighting after that because Summer nearly got herself killed saving him, and then they ran for their lives for forty minutes without a break. He knew exactly where his aura levels were when Raven and Taiyang found them in the forest. Hell, he _passed out_. He woke up after ten minutes. He should only be waking up around _now_ , for crying out loud.

Not to mention Summer was injured at the very end, and he knew her aura levels had been too low to really heal herself from a serious injury. She was knocked unconscious, he was dead to the world, and for at least a little while, Raven took off to explore the cave. That left one, rather glaring answer.

Taiyang did something. Qrow wasn't sure what, but he did.

He realized it about ten minutes into their walk in the cave. His head was a little clearer by then, and the only reason he didn't immediately call him out on it was the fact that Taiyang hadn't seemed to hurt them, at least not obviously, and he was proving himself an asset to the group.

Qrow still had every intention of confronting him, but…timing. Plus, Raven was his partner and therefore Qrow had to play nice. Otherwise he could make things tense for his sister.

He took a seat next to Raven and Summer sat delicately beside him.

"Of course they made it," A familiar voice said behind him. Qrow half turned just to have an eye on him, but his senses already told him who it was. Ardit looked a lot more comfortable than he had right after he and Zilar grabbed their relic. His partner sat beside him easily, with a familiar air about him.

Qrow was simultaneously impressed and disgusted—not at his fellow students, but at the situation in general. Yeah, they were all going to work with their partners better than they might have otherwise, but they still forced them into…that.

The scythe-wielder barely suppressed a shudder as a faint memory of ice and terror swept across his mind.

Just figured that he got partnered with the one person with a childhood almost as fucked up as his and Raven's. Or maybe more, if he was interpreting some of her memories correctly.

He didn't dwell on it too much. Forcing them into performing a synergy was a heinous perversion anyway. Qrow refused to try and pick the experience apart after the fact. Felt like an invasion of privacy otherwise.

Four more people entered the auditorium. Goodwitch went to greet them as she had earlier.

"Sixteen," Raven muttered under her breath, and Qrow nodded. Not many groups left.

They didn't have to wait long for the last few groups to stumble in. They all looked some degree of scared, shaken or angry, and Qrow could understand why. He passed the time glaring at Ozpin, alternatively imagining slicing him in half and blowing his head off. The old creep must have noticed, unless he was unaccountably incompetent, but he made no acknowledgment of it except the occasional twitch of a knowing smile.

After the last group stumbled in, Ozpin and Goodwitch had a hushed conversation. Qrow watched them, begrudgingly curious. Ozpin gave a short nod and handed Goodwitch the scroll before stepping forward to face the crowd. Immediately a hush fell over the audience.

"I would like to start," Ozpin told them, his voice grave, "with an apology."

No one spoke, but Qrow felt the straining, simmering anger of his fellow classmates tighten in a collective force. A hot flash of fury rose from beside him before Summer reigned it in. Ozpin was undaunted.

"In order to sort you into compatible teams, we forced you all to use a technique usually reserved for people who are truly close to one another. I forced you into doing so with a stranger, and for that I sincerely apologize."

There was no forgiveness to be found in the crowd. Most especially not in himself.

"Some of you undoubtedly speculated that this was a heavy-handed attempt to accelerate team-bonding. This is not the case, and as long as I am headmaster, Beacon will never resort to such crass methods of team-building. In truth, the relics we use," Ozpin continued, apparently knowing he had yet to win the students over, "respond to synergistic energy signatures only. If we had items which did not require such a thing, I would never have asked it of you. I can only promise that I will never ask you to do that again for any part of your Beacon curriculum."

There was such sincerity in his voice, such obvious regret and honesty, that a good third of the students relaxed, seemingly forgiving him. Ardit and Zilar did. So did Taiyang, and bizarrely even Raven softened a bit. Summer, he noticed, just grew tenser in response.

"The relics are dust-infused and aura-receptive, so they responded individually to the word that best reflects the acting partners' most dominant shared quality. Each relic has a mate, and it is in this way that we will match you into teams." The headmaster gave a wry smile. "I promise you all—compatibility between teammates is going to be one of the things that defines your time here at Beacon most strongly, and indeed your careers as Hunters. The ordeal you experienced today in your initiation will be worth it for a positive team experience, I assure you."

Goodwitch stepped forward and returned the scroll. He nodded his thanks, and turned back to the students.

"Now I will call you all by name, and sort you into teams. When your name is called, please come down to the floor of the auditorium. Professor Goodwitch will then show you to your rooms." Then Ozpin cleared his throat and started listing off names.

He was a good two-thirds of the way through the teams when he finally called some names Qrow recognized. "Ferro Savage, Rust Remmington, Ardit Baikal and Zilar Winchester, please come down."

The two men behind him stood awkwardly, and made their way through the packed stands with an unfortunate lack of grace. Two people in the very first row also stood, and were waiting patiently near Ozpin when Zilar and Ardit finally got down there.

The strangers were interesting. One was the dark-skinned girl asking all the questions earlier that day, with the orange-gold eyes. She was wearing a long, dark green and grey dress that cut off around her knee and had slits up the sides, probably to allow for free movement. She wore black leggings underneath and her long brown hair was pulled back in a tight braid. Her weapon—weapons, he corrected, were strapped to either side, and Qrow couldn't tell what they were from here.

Her partner was a man with dark red hair and average height and build. He was dressed in a steel-grey sweater and black pants. A glaive was strapped to his back, and looking closer Qrow could tell it was a mech-shift of some kind.

Probably a gun, he mused. _Everybody_ liked guns.

"The four of you retrieved the 'hope' relics. From this day forward you will be known as Team Zaffer, led by Zilar Winchester." Ozpin smiled at the four of them warmly, and both pairs of partners looked at each other with open curiosity. Zilar himself looked floored. Goodwitch ushered them offstage quickly, and Ozpin called another set of names.

Five more teams were called by the time Ozpin read his and Summer's names, and by then the first-year section of the bleachers were close to empty.

"Raven Branwen, Qrow Branwen, Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao-Long. Please come down."

The four of them froze, and Qrow fought the urge to place himself bodily between Taiyang and Summer.

Damn synergy. It was throwing everything off.

He'd expected this, he reminded himself. Back in the maze. He expected to be paired with Raven and whoever her partner was.

He just hadn't counted on her partner being as suspicious as he was.

It was fine. Or it was going to be, at any rate.

He and Raven stood first, and Summer followed. Made sense—she had to get up for the rest of them to leave.

They had a far easier time of it than Ardit and Zilar—mostly due to the fact that the stands were largely empty by now. There were only three teams left to sort.

When they made it to the floor of the auditorium, they lined up with Summer on Qrow's right and Raven and Taiyang on his left. Ozpin threw their likeness on the screen, and gave his benediction. "The four of you retrieved the 'endure' relics. From this day forward you will be known as Team Stark, led by Summer Rose." Qrow felt Summer freeze beside him in obvious shock. Ozpin gave them a quick grin that he had not bestowed on any of the previous teams. "Between you and me, I always look forward to witnessing the growth of the team that reflects this particular trait. It is almost always interesting."

Summer was, apparently, just as surprised as the rest of them.

She threw her hood back and stepped forward. "Professor, I do not think I should be—"

"Give it a try, Ms. Rose." Ozpin interrupted, his gaze warm and his stance confident. "You may just surprise yourself."

Qrow allowed Goodwitch to usher them off-stage. Why in all of Remnant would he pick Summer as team leader? Qrow liked her in general, despite her obvious issues and oddities, but she was deeply reserved, and didn't seem to like…anyone, really. And she was actively afraid of at least one of her teammates. Not that he thought he himself should be leader—Qrow had enough perspective on life in general to know that was a terrible idea—but maybe Raven—

Okay no, that was also a terrible idea. Raven was too petty, if Qrow was being frank, and she tended to have an ego problem. Also a tendency to micro-manage. She looked openly mutinous and downright jealous of Summer at the moment. And Taiyang—

Qrow eyed the studied expression of good natured surprise and felt the inconspicuously good-natured projection of his aura that was so out of place considering the circumstances, and oh yeah, that's why he couldn't be the leader.

Huh. Well Ozpin was right about one thing—this should be interesting. At least, it would be if Ozpin's definition of "interesting" included attempted homicide.

* * *

Hey guys, sorry this was a bit late. Midterms are a bitch. This is probably riddled with errors but I kind of want to put it up now so I don't have to worry about it later. I may make changes as I have time, but yeah. If you see any glaring mistakes point them out.

I admit I am...really not sure about this chapter. I was going to go a completely different direction, but. Yeah.

For those of you who are terribly confused about why everyone's freaking out about privacy, I have a head canon that there are a whole myriad of cultural taboos around sharing information about one's Semblance in Remnant as a whole, with some places being more strict about it than others. Atlas is notably stricter about this than other regions.

This of course leads into Summer's rather intense overreaction to the whole situation she found herself in. She's already a private and reserved person, but if I had a nightmare generator handy, that might literally be one of the first things that popped out for Summer-trusting a stranger in literally any capacity. So forgive her, synergy is an unnerving experience.

Speaking of, I'm pretty much done with complicating the premise of aura and how it's used. No more surprises or weird new ~supernatural abilities~, for a while at least. Now the characters get to work within the bounds of their constraints. Woo.

Summer's Dual Swords have been named. It's still in Latin. Luna Cruor, which should roughly translate to Moon Blood, as in the gore of a kill. In plain English, cruor is the word describing the part of blood that clots. It works both ways, in Summer's case.

Tisan is the Eastern Sanusian god of mercy/redemption/salvation. I kind of doubt his story is going to make it into the fic, but we'll see.

Zilar is Cardin's father. And Team ZAFR is my answer to Team JNPR. If you guys figure out what their theme is, let me know, I want to see if it's too easy to catch or not.

In other news, I have discovered Raven is a sassy bitch. I kind of love her for it.

While reading this, keep in mind that the characters do not know everything and there are machinations happening behind the scenes.

Let me know what you think! And especially let me know if you see any mistakes I should take care of!


	5. 1-5: Check This Temper

**PART I: Covenant**

 **CHAPTER V: Check This Temper**

* * *

 _"Set the foot down with distrust on the crust of the world_ – _it is thin."_ – _Edna St. Vincent Millay._

* * *

"She said room 7.877, right?" Tai asked, turning to Summer for confirmation. She nodded, hood up, and Tai turned to the door. It took a while to find because whatever numbering system Beacon used was _not_ intuitive in the slightest.

The entire student body was treated to a meal after the teams were declared. It was a painfully awkward affair for Team STRQ since each of its members were busy being either a) traumatized b) moody c) aloof or d) seated around peers that were one of the above. Sure, Tai attempted several conversation starters, but he could only take so many blank stares, snippy retorts and outright glares in one hour-long period.

It wasn't even a condition unique to Team STRQ. An almost suffocating sense of discomfort and violation wafted around the Dining Hall, and Tai found it too distracting to concentrate on befriending other people.

While they ate dinner, their housing assignments were decided and their luggage was moved into their rooms. It made Taiyang feel vaguely guilty, if for no other reason than his bag was heavier than it looked, and he was perfectly capable of lifting it.

Tai swiped the key card, and the door swung open easily. That was his bag, so this was definitely their room.

He raised an eyebrow at the rather conspicuous…lack of luggage. Looked like each of them had a duffle bag apiece, which was definitely below the average amount per student.

Wait. One apiece meant one apiece, which meant Summer—

Well either she wasn't as wealthy as he'd pegged her, or she was _really_ down-to-earth for a one-percenter.

Remembering his teammates behind him, Tai stepped forward to retrieve his pack, and looked around.

The room was small for four people. It had four twin-sized beds, and arranged wall-to-wall there was just enough room to walk between them. There was one large window, and looking closer Tai decided that had to be a later addition to the original structure, because it matched none of Beacon's other architectural themes. They probably added it when they renovated the rooms to be appropriate student housing.

Aside from the beds, there were four desks that looked like they doubled as dressers and…yeah that was a small bathroom off to the side there.

Raven stooped to pick up her nondescript duffle bag, surveyed the room with a displeased expression, and then threw her bag on the bed farthest to the right.

…yeah he was just going to let her have this one.

He walked up to the window—partly to see the view and partly to let Summer and Qrow arrange themselves in whatever manner would lessen the tension he felt directed at him. Summer didn't really seem to trust anyone—at all, if her behavior during initiation was any indication—and she had been outright suspicious from the get-go, but Qrow…

Qrow's shift in attitude honestly surprised him. He noticed back in the caves, but hadn't really been in a good place to address it. He wondered if the other man knew…nah, he couldn't. Probably just suspected something weird was going on. Nothing he could prove.

That, of course, was more than enough to upset team dynamics. If Taiyang didn't prove himself at least nominally trustworthy in the next few days…well that could be bad.

Step one to getting people to like you: let them control interactions as much as possible.

So, Tai looked out the window while Qrow and Summer arranged themselves. He was pleasantly surprised—it was dark out, but they had a nice view of the courtyard. They were high enough up that it was possible to see beyond Beacon's grounds and the lights in the distance were probably Vale proper.

When the movements behind him settled, Tai turned around.

Summer, probably predictably if he really thought about it, picked the bed on the other wall. He couldn't quite tell due to the hood but Tai got the strangest sense that she was analyzing the bedframe for structural soundness.

Qrow, more surprisingly, picked the bed next to Summer rather than the one by his sister. That meant Qrow clearly perceived Tai as a threat which…yeah that wasn't good. He also seemed to think Summer needed more protection than his own sister, or at least that Raven was more capable of taking care of herself in this case.

Either that or, in the event they needed to subdue him, Qrow wanted to have an ally on either side of Tai preemptively.

…there was a possibility he was overthinking this.

Either way, Tai set his duffle bag down on his bed and rocked a little on his feet. He was nowhere near ready to go to bed yet.

"Anybody want to go explore?" he asked, and the other three occupants in the room gave him a look that conveyed some version of 'hell no' with varying degrees of 'fuck off' thrown in for good measure.

Admittedly, Qrow and Summer were probably exhausted. Qrow especially, since he never really got to sleep off the effects of his aura exhaustion from earlier. Tai was glad to know his little experiment worked though. Definitely worth using in the future.

…assuming of course that he could actually get the others to leave him alone with an injured teammate. Which wouldn't be happening if he couldn't gain at least a little of their trust.

He appealed to Raven, who was now reclining cat-like on her bed. "Really? You're not at all curious about the school?"

Something flashed in Raven's bloody eyes and Tai remembered the suffocating feelings of inferiority and frustration pitted against a nameless, faceless opposition.

He tried not to think about it. Synergy wasn't meant to be used to get to know someone.

For a second she seemed interested. Then she gave a shrug. "Maybe tomorrow."

He wanted to protest, cite some kind of team bonding exercise or something, but Summer and Qrow really did need to rest and also, he wasn't the team leader. So.

He shrugged, and left his duffle bag on the bed. He memorized its location and the position of the zippers out of habit, but he was kind of curious to see if they would resort to going through his stuff. He didn't mind too much—anything important was either on his person or in his head—but it would be a good gauge of just how far his teammates were willing to act on this suspicion they had of him, and a measure of their characters in general. And from there he'd be able to tell how much work would need to go into gaining their trust. Or whether that was salvageable at all without outright addressing it.

For one uncontrolled and honestly _embarrassing_ second, he wondered if Summer could plan something like this, and pull the team together. Then he pushed the thought away, unwilling to examine it further in such close proximity to her.

Taiyang grabbed one of the keycards from the slot by the door, and waved as he walked out, not expecting or receiving a response. He decided to make his way down to the courtyard. The fountains looked nice and he could observe the whole school from there.

As he walked his mind wandered. It was funny, but in all his years imagining himself at this school, and in all the hours he'd worked toward that goal, he almost never pictured himself on a team. And on the rare occasion he _did_ remember to include others in his little daydreams, he was always the leader of the pack. The idea that he _wouldn't_ be for the foreseeable future...well it rankled more than Tai wanted to admit. He didn't like the idea that someone else would have that much input on his goals and how he accomplished them.

To be fair to himself, he usually _was_ the ring-leader in any given group. When the four of them were called up to the floor of the stadium, Tai fully expected Ozpin to name him leader, even if he hadn't consciously given it much thought.

He kind of wanted to know what the criterion for Ozpin's selection were. It didn't…it didn't make much sense.

Tai had little to no opinion of Summer as a person, other than the fact that she was skilled in aura-sensing and clearly had some kind of sordid past that she wasn't very good at dealing with. How Qrow managed to convince her to perform synergy with him was a mystery that Tai honestly wasn't sure he wanted to examine too closely. She'd been on the verge of a panic attack when he and Raven left.

She was clearly intelligent. Pragmatic. Well-trained and probably well-educated, if her accent and general bearing were to be believed.

But she was so _aloof_ —she rarely spoke, she made little to no effort to form relationships with those around her, she didn't even seem to like being in close contact with others. There was little to no sense of authority about her. It was the type of behavior Tai always thought incompatible with leadership. History would seem to agree with him, if the personality profiles he memorized on Remnant's most influential leaders were to be believed. So why her?

Cool air kissed his face as he stepped outside. He took a deep breath and the crisp scent of freshly-cut grass filled his nostrils. The soothing sound of trickling water tickled his ears, and Taiyang reveled in the peace of the evening.

Whoever designed this school meant for the courtyard to be a place of privacy for multiple people at once. Around the complex were concentric walkways with parks and fountains. No matter where he went he couldn't see the whole thing at any given time, even if the school itself was always in view.

He walked up to observe the statue in the middle. It was a likeness of the Warrior King, holding up his famous sword, with his infamous right hand Iola crouching in ready defense beside him. If he stood in the right spot, the sword cleaved the tower in half perfectly. He breathed, letting his senses range out. The school seemed…alive, somehow. Like it had its own heartbeat. The illusion was assisted by the hundreds of people milling around inside.

For the first time since stepping off the airship yesterday, Taiyang allowed himself to ruminate on why he was here. Like stepping a toe into his ocean of grief, he let it fill him for a moment, weigh him down. A useful ballast that fed determination, the motivation for everything he did and the thing that kept him sailing forward. It was not so overwhelming anymore, not like—before. It was more of a longing now, a weary grief that spread through him diffuse and soft, like ink in water.

He let it linger. He watched the lights in the tower of the school, and this time felt no buoyancy.

There were so many things he needed to do, so much he didn't know…but coming here was the first step. Being at Beacon was the best way to accomplish his goal.

A thought sparked in his mind, and his grief welled shut as he grinned a little in response. As a student, he probably had access to more resources than the average civilian. It wasn't anything like the information available to licensed Hunters, but there would be something. Tai had a date and he had a cause of death, and that should be enough to go on. Plus, he had a description of the victim, and he knew for a fact that Beacon had a record of her death. The school was, after all, the one who sent someone to inform Taiyang.

It was the first time in a long time he had a concrete hope of _getting_ somewhere. Despite the lingering melancholy, it filled Taiyang with the insane, giddy thought that he could fly if he wanted to right now. Or explode. One or the other, really.

Something flickered on the edge of his awareness. A group of people—four of them, their auras faintly tinged with mischief. Two were familiar.

Moving carefully, and checking the security of his seals for redundancy's sake, Tai followed the signatures and jogged back into the school. Taking a shortcut, he chased after Ardit and Zilar. And probably their new teammates, if he was guessing correctly. He probably should have paid more attention during the whole team-assignment ceremony. If he thought ahead, he could have committed every one of his classmates' aura-presences to memory, and associated them by team. In his defense, he'd still been shaken by the whole synergy thing. Still was, if he was honest. Everything felt just ever-so-slightly _off_.

Tai's suspicions were proven correct when he spotted Team ZAFR crouching behind a corner in the front hallway and trying to do…something.

"I'm telling you, the camera's mounted in the corner for a wide-view of the hallway. We can go under it and sneak into the side entrance!"

The whole team seemed very…focused. Tai cleared his throat. All four of them spun around, hands going for non-present weapons on instinct.

Tai gave a short wave and smiled, amused. "Hey."

The strangers looked suspicious but Zilar smiled and Ardit waved. "Hey."

Tai grinned. "Nice night."

There was a flash of amusement in the faunus' eyes. "Clear sky. Nice breeze."

Tai kept his expression level. "Quiet. Peaceful." Then, breaking character, he shifted his stance to a more relaxed position, projecting his honest curiosity. "So. What're you guys up to?"

Zilar interjected. "Team bonding!"

The girl looked like she was considering open revolt. "Is that what you call getting lost?"

Zilar thought about it for half a second. "We're not lost. And yes."

"What're you guys looking for?" Tai asked, heading off an argument before the girl could open her mouth. See how good he was at problem resolution? That was a leadership quality. He had it.

…okay, he was harboring more bitterness about this than he'd realized.

The redheaded guy was the one who answered. "The kitchens. Ferro said she was craving chocolate."

The girl in question glared at her partner. "Why would you tell him that? Now he wants to come!"

"Want some help getting there?" He offered, because he was bored and also because he clearly needed to do something while he sorted out his feelings over being passed over as leader of team STRQ.

The girl looked suspicious and, okay, yeah, he was getting tired of that being directed at him today. "What makes you think you can help?"

Fair question. "I memorized the school's floorplan." He got four blank stares in return. Tai blinked, not quite sure what to make of it. "What? It's public record." He assumed that some things were deliberately left out—the dust stores, for example, weren't on any of the public maps, and few of the rooms were actually named. But it was a historical, publicly owned building, and the blueprints were protected under public domain laws by the Vale City Council—laws that were implemented by the Warrior King, so that the public might police the schools as a kind of default oversight committee.

Taiyang had no idea how Beacon's incomplete blueprints were supposed to help the public affect Beacon's policies, but for the last month he'd been bored at Signal and excited to start at his new school, so. Blueprints.

Ferro's face broke into a grin and Tai noticed suddenly how pretty she was with her orange-gold eyes and dark skin. Her aura glowed with her glee. "Oh I _like_ him."

 _Well at least that makes one person here_ , he thought, and _wow_ , he was throwing all _kinds_ of pity-parties today.

"He can come," the redhead declared. Zilar and Ardit, never having put up a protest in the first place, just gave easy affirmatives.

He walked up to join them. "There's another entrance round the back. No cameras." He seriously doubted they'd bother investigating a little missing chocolate, but going through the motions of a break-in was fun regardless.

Zilar grinned, and Tai noticed for the first time that there was a scar under his jaw, trailing from his chin to his ear, like someone tried and failed to garrote him. "Excellent. Lead the way, honorary Team ZAFR member."

Tai pushed open a door about twenty feet down the hall from them. "My pleasure. I don't suppose this comes with any kind of benefits package?"

The bulky redhead—Rust, he remembered, pinned him with a grave expression. "Service is its own reward."

Tai snorted. Ardit equivocated. "We can probably give you some chocolate."

Ferro sniffed, but her aura was playful and Tai relaxed into the banter. "Only if I get my pick of the haul first."

* * *

As it turned out, Tai _was_ overthinking it.

 _She snores_ , he thought, a little desperate and a lot incredulous, _she snores like a beowulf crawled down her throat_.

Qrow, who was quietly performing maintenance on his sword, was smirking in knowing, smug victory.

 _That rat bastard_ , Tai thought uncharitably. _He_ _**knew**_.

Which, of course he did, they were twins, but still. This would have been bearable if he was even one bed away from Raven, because then at least the sound wouldn't be so…concussive. She seemed to have a breathing pattern which required her to quiet for a few minutes before ripping into malfunctioning mech-shift mode. And it startled him every time because she was _doing it right in his ear_.

Qrow put a few drops of oil in the gears of his weapon. Tai silently vowed revenge, but made sure his seals were tight, because tipping Qrow off would be unbelievably stupid.

 _Just you wait_ , he promised, trying not to twitch as Raven snored particularly loudly. It was maybe a few decibels quieter than an airship engine. _I'm going to end you_.

Qrow either didn't notice or didn't care. He just looked intolerably smug, and used a cheesecloth to wipe up the excess oil as he worked.

* * *

Raven woke to an empty room. Having spent most of the previous night awake, and after letting Qrow sleep first—they were being paranoid, yes, but that didn't mean she would be able to sleep if she didn't have Qrow watching her back for the foreseeable future—Raven was understandably pretty tired.

Her forehead wrinkled and she reared back as she noticed something off—there was…a piece of paper? Stuck to her forehead?

She scowled, and blinked the last of the sleep from her eyes as she snatched the note. She recognized Qrow's terrible handwriting immediately.

 _Went to get breakfast. They're serving something called pancakes? Might want to hurry up. They're passing out schedules at 10:00._

 _Also? Your partner snores._

Raven's scowl deepened. Yeah, she noticed that when Taiyang finally came back from whatever escapade he'd been on last night. She went to bed not long after him but his snoring had long-since manifested by then. She was surprised she slept at all. He sounded like a drunken lumberjack.

She looked around but didn't see a clock. Judging by the light though—

Raven cursed and flung the covers off, rummaging under her bed for her pack. She hadn't bothered to put her clothes in the dresser-desk. She could do that as she wore the stuff. And if it made her feel a little better to have a go-bag ready, well that wasn't anything she needed to share.

Supposedly they were going to receive uniforms. She could put those in the desk and her important clothes in the bag.

Raven didn't bother going into the bathroom to change. Even if Taiyang walked in unexpectedly, it wasn't like it would be the first time she was naked in front of an audience. Her lip curled as she tied the thin black obi over her red wrap. That particular training exercise was one she never found much justification in.

Fitting her odaichi to her hip, Raven strode purposefully out of the room.

…and had to turn back to grab the remaining key from the slot by the door. She was not used to locking doors. Back home the threat of getting one's head lobbed off should they enter another Tribe member's tent was more than enough deterrent. Not so here, apparently.

The night before she made a point of remembering the way to the cafeteria (always know where to find a food source, tenet of survival #3). She jogged down the hallway and, not having the patience for the elevator, went for the more mundane approach. Honestly, why were the elevators even necessary? Students at a Hunter academy should be able to use the stairs just as easily.

Plus, the elevator was…uncomfortable. Too easy to ambush. Too small to fight in.

Raven was also not a fan of descending seven flights of narrow stairs at high speeds. Dizziness was not something of which she approved. It was still preferable to the elevator though.

The cafeteria came into sight when she reached the bottom. She sensed her team inside. It was just across one of the many courtyards that separated wings of the school. Raven found the fountains and statues unnecessary. They were just a mark of wealth, an artifice of status and history. A beautiful façade for a warrior's training grounds. It served no useful purpose, making the courtyards pretty.

Well, actually, if someone were stupid enough to attack the school, she supposed the water in the fountains could be used to disorient the assailant. And the statues could make excellent projectiles, if one had the right leverage. Breaking them could also provide some ammunition, if one was careful.

The cafeteria was connected to the main building of the school—where all the classrooms were—by a large stone arch that dropped from several stories up to the school's third floor. The hall was one long, large room with door-sized windows shaped like an upside-down shield Raven saw at the Gathering once. The entrance was on the north end, which faced the main building.

Raven scowled at the clock tower as she moved across the courtyard. It was only about 9:00. Her ability to judge time by sunlight was compromised—light looked different in Vale than back home. They were significantly farther north here.

As she entered the cafeteria, two girls exited. Raven was used to people moving out of her way, and didn't bother avoiding them, which is how both girls ended up sprawled on the floor.

Raven looked down at them, eyebrow raised. They were both wearing extremely impractical heels and miniskirts. Raven remembered them from the evening previous, when they were sorted into teams. She didn't make a note of their names though. They seemed harmless.

They both scowled at her now, surprise coloring their features. Raven would have ignored them completely and just walked around, but they managed to fall in exactly the manner which made that impossible.

The girl on Raven's right grunted and stood. Her hair was bubble-gum pink and her white top had sequins sewn on it. Her eyes were pale blue and flinty. Raven disdained of her instantly. The other one followed, her skin a dark color rarely seen in Mistral, and her hair bright blue. Neither had their weapons on them, as per school rules, and Raven would honestly be surprised if they managed to conceal knives anywhere on them. They simply weren't wearing enough clothing.

Raven fully approved of people using their sexuality to defeat particularly stupid enemies, but she did not think that was why these two dressed the way they were.

"Watch where you're going, you faunus freak," the pink-haired girl spat, clearly embarrassed if the spike in her aura and her body language was anything to go by.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a faunus."

The pink-haired girl sneered. "Oops, sorry, couldn't tell, what with the hair and all."

Raven didn't really get what the girl was trying to get at. Her hair was fine. And faunus were excellent warriors with proper training—they could see in the dark. The few she'd known growing up were some of the Tribe's most valuable members. "You should learn how to keep your balance better."

The blue-haired girl crossed her arms angrily. " _You_ ran into _us_."

"You should have moved."

Both girls' hands twitched, like they were ready to grab weapons that weren't on them. Raven's fingers wrapped around the knife hidden in her obi in response.

Then Raven noticed another presence. Light and cheerful and intent on her.

Taiyang walked up to the three of them and threw an arm around Raven's shoulders. Raven hissed and seriously considered putting her knife in _him_. But actually, with Taiyang here she could grab the knife hidden in her waistband without anyone noticing. Raven settled for scowling and leaning away from him instead.

"Hello ladies," Taiyang chirped. He was far too happy. "I hope my partner hasn't been bothering you too much."

"And who are _you_ supposed to be?" Blue asked angrily. They were drawing a crowd.

"Just an innocent bystander." He flashed a charming smile that actually seemed to set both its targets at ease. Raven wanted to roll her eyes. It was obvious he was playing them. "You'll have to excuse Raven here, if she was bothering you. I think she was raised by wolves."

Despite herself, the comment hit a little too close to home. Especially coming from Taiyang, who had clearly received more opportunities than her, and who probably had a loving family somewhere, or something.

She ignored the memory of aching loneliness and desperate, furious grief.

Taiyang didn't know, probably. He couldn't know who and what she and Qrow were. He couldn't know where they came from.

But she knew how synergy worked. Sharing impressions and memories was something that simply came with the territory. Sure, it would be mostly nonsensical, incomprehensible information, but a person as canny as Taiyang would pick up on the broad strokes and put two and two together.

She didn't want Taiyang to know _anything_ about her.

She elbowed him in the gut and pushed past him and the irritating girls. "What do _you_ know?"

From behind her she heard Taiyang wheeze dramatically. "See what I mean?"

Raven's scowl deepened and she stalked off toward the buffet table. She grabbed some fruit and a couple of pieces of sausage. There were some large, doughy discs and a vat of thick brown liquid, but that looked dubious at best and Raven didn't quite trust Vale's cuisine yet. It was all very…heavy.

For the first time, Raven wished she occasionally ventured away from the Tribe while growing up, like Qrow did. She doubted she would be experiencing quite this level of culture shock if she had.

Food collected, she scanned the room for her twin. She found him sitting to Ardit, the faunus they met by the relics. The rest of the team was gathered haphazardly around that end of the table. On Qrow's other side, and with significant space between them, sat Summer. If she didn't know better Raven would say she was eating alone, which was probably intentional. Like always, her hood was up and she picked at her food with the same enthusiasm Raven might give to schoolwork.

Much as Summer irritated Raven in a general kind of way, at least Summer didn't wear miniskirts. And she knew how to fight. It could be worse.

Raven sat across from Qrow, and raised an eyebrow when she saw his plate. He had six of the dough things stacked on top of each other, and drizzled the brown liquid all over it.

"What is that?" She asked, morbidly curious.

"Pancakes," Qrow told her, and stuffed a forkful of his meal in his mouth.

Raven looked at them curiously. If Qrow liked them, they probably weren't poisonous. Unless they were soaked in sake.

"Let me have a bite," she demanded.

Qrow laid his forearm in front of his pancakes defensively. "My pancakes."

Raven scowled. "I _want_ to try the pancakes."

Qrow cut himself another bite. "Get your own, sis."

Raven scowled deeper, considered heeding his advice and decided against it. She also considered using her many knives to force Qrow into compliance, but acknowledged that Qrow probably had at least as many sharp implements on his person. And pancakes probably weren't worth risking expulsion by revealing her knives.

There was a snort from down the table, and Raven glared at the red-headed perpetrator.

"What?" She snapped. She did not appreciate being laughed at. Especially not by strangers.

The redhead held up a placating hand, and shook his head. "Nothing, just—you guys are definitely siblings."

Raven frowned at him. "Well, _obviously_."

Zilar grinned at her. "Don't mind Rust, he's got four younger sisters. You two are probably giving him flashbacks."

"Pink dolls make me cry," Rust deadpanned, and viscously chomped down on his fork.

"And this is Ferro Savage," Ardit gestured to the only girl on their team. Ferro waved and went back to attacking her food with relish. "Ferro, that's Qrow's twin, Raven."

Raven was getting tired of being introduced second. This was an uncommon state of affairs for her. Rather than make any further conversation, she picked at her fruit cautiously. She'd never tried blueberries before. They didn't grow in Mistral.

Just as she was about to stab one with her fork—she'd looked for chopsticks, no luck for her, as usual—Taiyang sat next to her, his face split in a broad grin.

Raven glared at him when he sat a little too close and he respectfully gave her an inch. Raven would have liked to deposit him at the other end of the bench, but that was probably unreasonable.

She considered doing it anyway when he turned to her. "I smoothed things over with Roux and Talutah for you."

Raven blinked at him. "Who?"

Taiyang raised an eyebrow. "The girls you ran into? The ones who were about to try and rip your hair out or whatever?"

Raven frowned deeper. "They couldn't touch me if they wanted to."

Taiyang had a slight crease between his eyebrows. "Yeah but—" he paused, clearly waiting for her to get something, and shook his head after she gave him a blank stare. "Anyway, it's fine now."

Raven gave a mental shrug and stabbed her blueberries.

Taiyang turned his absurd grin on Qrow. "Are you a fan of pancakes?"

Qrow shrugged, and surreptitiously fiddled with something in his pocket. Raven wondered if he _had_ soaked his pancakes in sake.

"They're fine," Qrow allowed. Raven raised her eyebrow. There hadn't been a chance for the two of them to speak privately since they got on the airship, but Raven could tell something was off with him. Especially in regard to Taiyang. He was wary. Had been since the night before.

Raven suspected it had something to do with his fast recovery time in the cave. Yes, it was suspicious, but whatever happened, Qrow was fine. She didn't see how it was a big deal.

"I'm glad you like them." Taiyang said cheerfully. Raven wished he would stop being so happy all the time. It was _morning_. "You guys excited to start classes tomorrow?"

Ardit perked up, his dark brown eyes lighting up under his tawny fringe. "Absolutely! I've never been outside Menagerie before, so It'll be fun to learn about history from the other side."

Raven stiffened a little but no one noticed. Well maybe Qrow, but he didn't count since he tensed too.

"I wonder if we'll share any classes," Zilar mused. He sat to Raven's right, and she realized she may have seated herself between two morning people on accident.

Next time she would sit across from Summer. Maybe way their mutual prickliness would make other people go away.

Raven eyed her team leader while the boys blathered on about classes over her head. On the airship, Raven pegged her as an adept warrior. During initiation, she proved that, and certain leadership traits even Raven couldn't deny. She'd also proven to be an extremely traumatized individual, if the hood and her behavior regarding synergy was anything to go by. Yeah, the experience was unnerving, but one either survived their trials or didn't. There was no use crying about it.

Still, she kept Qrow alive from that massive Deathstalker and got herself concussed to protect his back when he passed out. She also managed to buck up enough to get the relic, so it wasn't like Summer was incapable of dealing with her shit, whatever that was

Raven still thought Ozpin should have picked her for team leader, though. It would have made for good practice.

She speared a strawberry. She liked them better than the blueberries so far. Sweet but not overwhelming.

Taiyang and Rust were reliving some escapade they had the night before. Apparently, they snuck down to the kitchens to get chocolate. Raven only had that once before, and it was terribly bitter. She didn't really see why they would want to get their hands on it. But whatever, maybe Vale had a thing for bitter. Their coffee certainly was. Raven would always prefer tea.

"The schedules are ready," Summer commented, surprising everyone. It was the first time Raven heard her speak since the night before.

Everyone at the table swiveled around to the front, where Goodwitch and a few people who looked like faculty members stood with several boxes filled with yellow-orange envelopes. Goodwitch waved her…wand…staff…thing…and a few sparks ran around the room, instantly arresting everyone's attention.

"Will the team leaders please come up and collect their schedules. You will collect your uniforms from the steward at the time listed in your schedule packet. Your books you may collect from the school's librarian, although some of your reading material may be found via scroll, which each of you will receive along with your uniforms. If you already have a scroll compatible with Beacon's network you may use that. The rest of the day will be yours to do with as you wish, but I highly recommend going through your textbooks. Now please form an orderly, single file line."

It took a moment but the room eventually realized Goodwitch was waiting on the team leaders. Instantly there was a mad scramble as people made their way to the front. Summer, Raven noticed, took in the chaos and sighed just loud enough for her to hear. Raven smirked. At least she knew if Taiyang and Qrow got too annoying she could count on Summer to not irritate her.

When Summer left, Ferro turned down the table. "Does she ever take the hood off?"

Raven stabbed her sausage. "No," she told the girl curtly. She was curious about the hood herself.

By now, Summer was pretty close to the front of the line. Raven noticed the other students were giving her a wide berth, almost unconsciously. Raven wondered if Summer had a semblance that allowed her to project certain falsehoods with her aura. She hoped it wasn't that. Taiyang was more than adept at that particular skill.

"She's going to have to eventually," Taiyang said lowly, just loud enough for her and Qrow to hear. "It's school policy."

If she wasn't Qrow's twin, she wouldn't have noticed how his hand clenched a little around his fork, and then released. Weird. Maybe he saw something when they performed synergy that was making him more protective now?

"She'll get over it," Raven whispered back. People survived or didn't. Dwelling on one's hurts was weak. Qrow knew that.

Summer was coming back now, yellow folder in hand. She sat down next to Qrow, a little closer than where she sat to eat, and broke the seal on the envelope.

She pushed her hood back a little, enough to read without irritation, and her eyes skimmed the page quickly and easily. Raven did not let the hot rush of shame and resentment leak into her aura.

What was _wrong_ with her? She'd never felt a need to gain approval from others before. She'd never felt shame for who she was—only pride.

Maybe it was the synergy. She still felt off, still kept getting hit with recollections of Taiyang's emotional memory. She hadn't pressed too deeply—even she had her limits on what was appropriate when it came to breaches of privacy—but maybe what she _did_ recall was affecting her more than she thought. Making her more sensitive.

She scowled at the thought while Summer skimmed her instructions.

"We meet with the steward in an hour," she told them. "Here." She started passing around their weekly schedules. When she looked at hers, Raven leaned back slightly, so that the boys on either side of her wouldn't be able to see it. Zilar was engaged in his own team anyway, but she didn't want to take chances.

"Do we all have the same schedule?" Taiyang asked, skimming his own leaflet.

"Mostly," Summer told him. "There is one block on Tuesday and Thursday that is different for each partner group. And…" Summer trailed off, glancing between Raven and Qrow. "Raven and Qrow get to take some advanced weapons courses."

Raven saw red.

She _knew_. She _knew_ and she was covering for them and—

Maybe she should be grateful. Hell, a moment ago she'd been all but hiding her schedule so no one would see. But she wasn't grateful, because Summer _knew_ , and was able to read her and Qrow well enough to know they wouldn't want that information spread around. Summer, who clearly received an excellent education. Summer, who hadn't struggled a day in her life for money, survival, or opportunity.

Qrow looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I don't think—"

"They're not advanced courses," Raven interrupted, nearly vibrating and drilling a hole in Summer's silver eyes. "They're remedial ones."

Qrow looked at her with shock and annoyance written all over his face. Taiyang raised an eyebrow and turned to her. "Remedial...?"

"Math. History." Her face flushed at the next one. "Reading and writing." She saw Taiyang's eyebrows furrow together in confusion, and she leaned in close. "Got something to say about it?"

Taiyang, for once in his life, looked genuinely shocked. "No, I—"

"Good," Raven spat. She stood up from the table, and leaned toward Summer, whose expression was completely blank. "We don't owe each other anything," she hissed.

And with that Raven stormed out of the cafeteria, fully bent on finding a few Grimm to destroy out in the forest before they had to collect their uniforms from the steward.

She got halfway through the castle before she realized that she left her schedule on the table, and that Nemesis was in the armory. If it weren't for the schedule she might have just gone to the forest anyway. It wasn't like she never fought with nothing but a few knives before. But the schedule was still in the cafeteria, and she needed it if she was going to get around this stupid school. And she didn't want anyone else to pick it up and see…

So she turned around, back to the cafeteria, and collided with a blur of yellow and brown.

She kept her balance well enough, but Taiyang wasn't so lucky. She looked down to see him sprawled on the floor, blinking in surprise. When he recognized her, he broke out into a big smile.

"Oh, good, I caught up with you. You left this back there." He held out a sheet of paper and Raven realized it was her schedule. She took it and Taiyang stood, shifting back and forth and projecting all kinds of awkwardness.

Raven didn't quite buy it.

He scratched the back of his neck and looked away. Both nervous gestures. Still didn't quite buy it.

"Look, about the courses." She bristled, and opened her mouth to verbally eviscerate him. "I won't say another word after this, but, if you want help or you want to ask questions, you can ask me."

She didn't believe his nervousness, but she could tell the offer was…genuine. In its own way.

"You're not gonna ask why we need them?"

Taiyang shook his head. "Nope. You can tell me if you want, but I won't ask."

Raven stared at him. Her partner was a mess of contradictions. He was friendly but manipulative, genuine and false. He was curious, but she believed him when he said he wouldn't press.

"Qrow and I didn't have the most…conventional, of childhoods."

Taiyang smiled. "I figured. If it makes you feel any better, I think all of Team STRQ could say the same."

She snorted, thinking of Summer and her clipped Atlesian accent, and Taiyang, with his cargo pants.

Then she remembered Summer's reaction to the very idea of synergy, the night before. The way Taiyang would rather manipulate people into believing him good natured rather than simply showing people who he was.

Maybe, just maybe, Raven was sometimes too quick to judge.

"Thanks for…" she waved her schedule.

Taiyang's grin broadened. "Anytime. So, can I ask—how would you feel about helping me pull a prank on Qrow?"

Raven blinked in surprise, but then she smirked. Taiyang clearly knew how to put her in a good mood. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

Hahahaha Raven attempting to interact with other people is my new favorite thing.

Team ZAFR's theme song is "Snakeskin Cowboys," by Ted Nugent. Team STRQ's theme song is Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters."

Raven is very critical of Talutah and Roux's clothing choices. This is because Raven evaluates everything based on functionality, and she does not see the point in dressing aesthetically. It's why she wears boots, and why she doesn't wear loose or long pants—she doesn't want the fabric to get caught in Nemesis. The one aesthetic thing she allows herself is her hair, and even then she wears it in a way that disguises her shape—when seen out of the corner of one's eye, she doesn't immediately register as human, which is useful. Anyway, the point is, it is not this author's opinion that just because a girl chooses to wear heels, a miniskirt, and a crop top, she's worthless. Raven is just harsh.

If one imagines that a Mistralian diet is similar to East Asian cuisine, then one can imagine that the adjustment to Valian (cough*American*cough) fare would be hard.

Raven tried baking chocolate, which is why she's like "bro, that's gross."

Shoutout to one reader who left me a lovely comment on AO3. I probably wouldn't have finished this until next week if not for him/her/them.

If you liked it, please let me know! if you hated it, tell me what I screwed up! Thanks, and have a great day!


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